Ranma Knights of the Old Republic
by Freedom Guard
Summary: Ranma does not get the Jusenkyo Curse...but discovers the Force instead and a destiny awaits him beyond his galaxy and he now fights with the Ebon Hawk crews against the True Sith
1. Chapter 1

Ranma 1/2 - Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2

Disclaimer: I have no ownership of anything from Ranma, nor do I own anything from LucasArts, Bioware, and Obsidian Entertainment. I am borrowing them for this story so no lawyers please.

Prologue

( ): Thoughts

The Force awakens…

Author's notes: This is my first Ranma fanfiction so I hope this will be enough. Like it, not like it, be honest and send me your comments.

--------------

The void of hyperspace was the only thing being seen by the man in the cockpit of small cargo/smuggler vessel. The cockpit had a full set of the equipment…consoles, communication systems for the whole ship, security systems and cameras, navigational computer and astrogation chart and more. The Ebon Hawk was by far a slightly older mode than others like it as it flew the colours of the Republic, but it was well made, though still a heap of junk to others who flew sleeker and deadlier ships in Known Space and the Republic. But to the man inside the cockpit, the Ebon Hawk and him had a history that no amount of credits could ever hope to replace.

Revan Sunfire looked in the streaks of light as he logged in another set of coordinates to a solar system in the Unknown Regions. The ship had many masters before him, before he took the ship from it's owner at the time, a crime lord by the name of Davik Kang on Taris, now it had two masters…him and his former General, friend and confidant, the Jedi Exile or Jesse Harvern in real life. Jesse had found him badly wounded but alive in one of the planets…avoiding the Sith and their agents at every turn…and he was still alive, and was very much whole again. Both of them now sought to slow down and if they could…defeat the True Sith Empire…the very same Empire that fed the flames of War and sent the Mandalorians to ravage the Republic…and now they were out here to prevent them from striking the Republic after the Jedi Civil War and the shadow war that followed after it.

(To think I did all those horrible things…I thought I was doing the right thing, instead I nearly tore the galaxy to shreds. I hope that I can finish this for now and come back to them all.)

The former Hero of the Republic and Former Dark Lord of the Sith thought as he looked at a console showing him holo-images of all the close friends that he had left behind to face the threat of the True Sith. Carth Onasi, Jolee Bindo, Juhani, Canderous Ordo, Mission Vao, Zaalbar and most of all…

His wife Bastila Shan…now known as Jedi Knight Bastila Sunfire…

He then began to recall the dreams that had made him leave them all behind. The dreams and memories of what he had seen when he saw the True Sith and their power. He recalled all he had done when he joined the Sith, but never to conquer the Republic…that was never his intention, nor was it to destroy the Jedi Order, not like the Sith…but to save both. Save it from the horrors the Sith Empire…the True Sith would inflict on it while he had been in the Unknown Regions after entering the secret vaults of Sith Knowledge and power on Malachor 5…all those years ago.

To be the greatest hero in the known universe and to save all he held dear and loved, he did the unthinkable and became the greatest villain it had ever known or seen in it's time.

He had gone from being the heroic, brilliant leader of the Republic Fleet and Army from the Mandalorian Campaign into the Dark Lord of the Sith. He spread the Sith teachings and took all those loyal only to him alone, both soldier and Jedi along with Malak…and then they came back to conquer the very same worlds that they had once stepped forward to save.

He thought about all the worlds he had put to the chain and those that were damaged…Telos, Carth's home planet, and others that he had conquered, their populations he had used as conscripts and workers as he took the mantle of Dark Lord. Millions of lives that he had once saved were either taken as slaves, killed, or worse by those under his command. He should have stopped it then, but so much was in motion…and then Malak would at times had overstepped their plans…like he had done with Telos. If he won, then his plan of quickly conquering the Republic and leaving it mostly intact would have made the survival of the people possible, and even should he fail, the Republic would still be strong enough to survive.

But he was caught off guard, and captured…by his future wife no less…the very same young woman he had been infatuated with back in his days training in Dantooine. And his mind was lost and broken after Malak's betrayal when they had been ambushed. He had expected Malak to betray him due to letting the Dark Side take over him and not stick to the plan they had agreed on…but not so soon at the end of the campaign.

He had been healed, saved by Bastila through the Force, thus forming a Force Bond with the young Padawan… and then would have been taken to stand trial. But the situation was grim, and the Jedi Council were very reluctant to do what they did then, but they had no choice…they sealed through the Force, his memories of being the Dark Lord and gave him a new identity, that of Kurt Mastrell, a Republic recruit and then placed him under the command of Bastila while on the Republic cruiser, the Endar Spire for a mission over Taris and things went from there. He rescued Bastila with the help of Carth, Zaalbar, and Mission. Then they worked to escape on the Ebon Hawk with the support of Canderous Ordo and T3…

When they got back on Dantooine, it was there that he faced his past in a sense after being trained as a Jedi under Bastila's request. And finally they went on to locate the Star Forge.

Revan rubbed his eyes a bit as he recalled all of those memories…the only parts that didn't bring back too many sad thoughts were his flirtations with Bastila. He recalled how she got mad and blushed, he recalled also how much he enjoyed watching her. He loved her more than even he knew, more than just through their bond. And it was painful to recall what she had been through and how he saved her…

"Having trouble Rev?"

Revan looked at the entrance and found Jesse looking in concern while still wearing his Zeison Sha Armour, his lightsabers strapped to the belt and a look of concern on his face. The young man had been his best supporter when they had been on this war, he had come late, but the Jedi Weapon Master was right on time in his book to help him do as much as he could to slow down the Sith. He was Revan's best commander and field leader…but he too carried his own wounds…being the survivor of the final battle over Malachor 5. He knew that he put Jesse there, and the results had been too violent and it was a miracle that he survived where hundreds of thousands did not…Jedi, Republic, Mandalorian…all died except very few survivors…but he was the ONLY Jedi to survive the blood-bath…and that was a miracle…a very painful one and he was a reminder of what his actions had created after he became Dark Lord.

"Just thinking about all that had happened and what we've been through back then, namely with Malachor 5. I wish I never did that to you old friend. I was even surprised that you even bothered to come after me since I…"

Jesse nodded. "I know…but I survived and that is all that matters. Besides, if it hadn't been for…my wound in the Force I would have never stopped Darth Nihilus from wiping out Telos."

Revan nodded as he knew hat Jesse had been sentenced and exiled, despite his attempts to make the Council see that what they had done saved billions of lives during the Mandalorian Wars. He didn't like the results of the Council's decisions to exile Jesse, but he saw that his former friend had been given time to reflect on his own actions and allow him to re-evaluate his plans for the future. Jesse also told him about the fates of his close friends since he had last seen them.

Carth was now Admiral and followed the orders he had left behind when he left. Him being leader of most of the Republic Fleet. While his son Dustil was both a Jedi and an officer in the Republic Intel Divisions. The two still had some issues, namely the events that led to Dustil being recruited by the Sith and Morgana's death from the Sith bombardment. Revan never forgot that in some ways he was responsible for the loss of Carth's family, his obsession for revenge, Dustil's anger at supposedly being abandoned, Carth's distrust for others. He hoped that his rescue of Dustil from the Sith on Korriban and his rejection to the Dark Side had been enough to finally make Carth trust again…and thankfully it did. He knew that Carth would follow his orders with the same loyalty as he showed the Republic, and that was what he respected the most out of his old friend.

Canderous had taken then reins of being Mandalore and was busy rebuilding the clans as he requested of him. He knew that it must be really depressing and annoying for the gruff Mandalorian veteran warrior and merc to be left behind, and he KNEW that he was going to get a heap full of questions followed by cursing from Canderous. But he expected that from his gruff friend and ally. The new Mandalore had gathered most of his scattered people and found even more, much to Revan's relief, namely since through the Force, he had seen the results if the Mandalorians were not united, and he knew that by doing so, the Mandalorians would live on in many years to come…hard to believe that the Republic would have to rely on the former enemy to survive, but that was the Force for you.

Juhani had gone back to the world she had been born from, but never grew up in. His Cathar friend had surpassed her Dark Side and she was stronger now. After the titanic clash between the Republic and the Sith on the Ratakan system where the Star Forge had been located, she made her way back to the war ravaged planet of her birth, and to her amazement found that underneath the planet were nearly forgotten shelters that housed pockets of her people who survived the Mandalorian purge, she had done so after the fall of the Dantooine Academy and now was the leader of the restoration of Cathar, after making peace with herself, Xor's death and that of her parents, the Cathar Jedi was more than ready to deal with the situation.

Jolee was now part of the Jedi Order once more though he didn't act like most Jedi at the time and he never did anyway, Revan didn't like the idea of the cantankerous old man becoming even more cryptic than he already was, but he liked that in the old Jedi who was like a father or brother figure to him in his days before recovering his memories and afterwards. It was him after all that convinced him how to save Bastila after all…and get them hitched. Master Vandar was the one who sponsored Jolee back to the Jedi Order and the decision as a very sound one. Though he still had reservations, he had in some ways made peace with Nayama's fall to the Dark Side, his inability to stop her and her death. He had gone back to Kashyyyk to help the Wookiees and along with him were two companions.

Mission was still hanging out with Zaalbar but was taken in by Carth who decided to help keep the teen Twi'lek out of trouble, plus her skills had made Carth sure that she would be better off helping out people than stealing. He knew that on Taris, she did it to survive, but now she could use them for another purpose. She was too young be a spy, but she became part of the support staff, it seemed that she had developed an affection for Dustil, and the two were getting closer, much to his surprise and that of Carth as well. Mission had been instrumental for their escape from the Leviathan due to her skills and thus Carth was not totally against the idea of her and his son being close anyway.

Zaalbar was the new chieftain of his village after the death of his father. Revan recalled his Wookiee friend and was happy that he was able to repay Zaalbar for all he had done by helping him regain his place in the village, saving his father, and defeating his fallen brother in combat and finally forcing Czerka to leave the planet and never return. After the battle on the Star Forge the Wookiee warrior/scout returned home a hero and was busy with much to do to make sure no Wookiee of his world were ever taken as slaves ever again.

Bastila…she had been promoted as Jedi Knight and was busy training Younglings, back at the newly reconstructed Jedi Enclave and that was due to her being more at home in the fertile planet than anywhere else, even Coruscant, where the main Jedi Temple was located. She was among the few of the Jedi left alive after the shadow assassins who were trained by the three Sith Lords left alive had hunted down many of them, along with Darth Nihilus killing most of the members of the last Jedi Enclave on Katarr. He wanted to see her again…

(It's been seven years since I have seen her. I hope that after this, then everything will be over and I can come back home.)

--------------

Jesse too was in deep thought as he recalled his own comrades…those he too had left behind back at the Republic to locate Revan and help him battle the Sith Empire.

Bao-Dur had taken the time to return to Telos and continue with the restoration project there. After helping to defend Citadel Station from the Sith attack nearly two years before, which resulted in the Death of Darth Nihilus by his hands, and the final death of Malachor 5, the Iridonian Engineer and Jedi Guardian who was his strongest supporter both in the Mandalorian Wars and the last Shadow War was now at peace, defeating his desire for revenge against the Mandalorians and moving on to use his skills to help both the Republic and the rebuilding Jedi Order. He knew that Bao-Dur would become their best maker of technology and weaponry in the years to come and that was something he looked forward to.

Visas Marr, the former servant of Darth Nihilus went to her ravaged world of Katarr as he had asked her to do before leaving for the Unknown Regions, to 'see' what she was meant to see all those years ago after being taken by her now deceased Sith Lord Master. Jesse recalled that she had been once sent to find him, subdue him and take him to Darth Nihilus so the Sith Lord could feed freely upon his essence and the Force, but he defeated her and spared her, allowing her to work with the crew…much to the distrust of both Kreia and the Handmaiden, she became a good ally and friend…plus her race's ability to see through the Force had been more than helpful on one occasion. She had strong affections for him, just as the Handmaiden did, but more so because she was like him in a way and she vowed to shield him with her life from those who would seek to harm him. She proved the true when she fought beside him and Mandalore with her former Master on the Ravager when the Sith Lord came to attack Telos. After that battle he asked her to help with the restoration of the Republic and the Jedi, along with rebuilding her home-planet and her people…she agreed and stayed behind to do jus as he had asked of her.

Mira, the former Mandalorian, and former Bounty Hunter, who became a close friend and ally in his journeys. She had been recruited by Jedi master Zez-Kai Ell to keep an eye on him when he and the others came looking for the Jedi Master on Nar Shaddaa, she had spent time watching him help others and disrupting the Exchange…much to her surprise. Long ago, she had been an orphan taken in by the Mandalorians and grew up in their squad, learning the methods on how to use weapons, different munitions, explosive ordinance, combat, and survival. When the war went badly for them they had recruited her to fight, and fight she did. After the final defeat of the Mandalorians over Malachor 5 and the lose of her family in the clans, she was among the survivors and made her way to settle in Nar Shaddaa, any orphan in her age and her looks would have been easy prey, but she used her earned talents as a Mandalorian with her uncanny ability to track down people and became the best bounty hunter in the Smuggler's Moon. Her skills, code of honour when it involved her bounties, and her sense of tracking made many allies…but just as many enemies, one was the Wookiee Bounty hunter Hanharr…more a predator, slaver, and murderer, the Wookiee considered her as not much of a challenge but relished the idea of breaking her, when he was hired to kill Mira by one of her rivals. The hunt went badly for the Wookiee since his ambush worked against him and he was wounded by his own mines after Mira bypassed them, being familiar with the mines, By all rights, Mira should have killed Hanharr, but she felt pity and sympathy for him and let him live. But doing so made Hanharr mad, more so than he already was and he vowed to kill her...until the arrival of him and his crew on Nar Shaddaa to find the Jedi Master.

After aiding in his rescue from Goto, head of the Exchange on Nar Shaddaa after he went after Visquis…he gained the aid of GO-TO a droid made by the crime lord to ac as he liaison, he discovered her past and learned that she was Force Sensitive. After gaining her trust, Mira agreed to listen to the Force, though she was very much a person who didn't believe in the ways of the Jedi. She however was finally able to tap into the Force and asked Jesse to train her so that she could finally make peace with herself and fight for what she needed to protect when the time came. Jesse agreed and trained her had a Jedi Sentinel. She and the others aided in the escape from Malachor 5, after she spared Hanharr again, already showing her skill and resolve as a Jedi, and when they came back to the Republic to heal their wounds…he asked her to help locate others who were Force Sensitive and help replenish the Jedi and aid in rebuilding the Republic, in that regard, she agreed to his request.

Atton, his first companion after Kreia, he met the scoundrel on Peragus. Though they had some initial problems, both men became fast friends, despite the fact that Atton was uncomfortable in the presence of Jedi, and this was the reason that he suspected that Atton had something to hide. He found out how true he was when it was revealed by some who knew Atton on Nar Shaddaa and by revelation by the man himself. He had been a Republic soldier, who fought in the Mandalorian Wars under Revan, and like those who followed Revan, Atton too became a Sith warrior…more to the point he had been trained in Revan's elite Sith Assassin squads to capture or kill Jedi.

He did his job well…so well that even the Jedi on his side didn't know what to make of him. He loved to finally make Jedi suffer for their arrogance…but that all changed when he was found by a Jedi Healer, a female human who's name was forgotten. She convinced Atton that the reason he was so good was that he was himself gifted with the Force himself, and Revan did something horrible and brutal to Jedi…to break them and make them his own, and those who were able to use the Force, men and women just like him were found under his command, they too would be taken and broken, Atton knew that to be true since many of his fellow soldiers disappeared, but he went to kill the woman, inflicting pain on her in all levels, and when he thought she couldn't take anymore, she awakened his tie to the Force and Atton now felt what it was like for Jedi…for those who were tuned to Force to die.

He was enraged and killed her…but he saw what the Jedi felt when they died and that made him turn his back forever on the war and walk away from the Sith, the Jedi, and the galaxy, and everyone…until he met Jesse on Peragus.

Jesse honestly was angry and wanted to beat up Atton for his actions, but instead understood what it was like, the desperation of the troops and their dislike for the Jedi who stayed away and didn't come to their aid. He forgave Atton and that was when Atton asked if he could train him since he made a pledge to protect him when the time came to it. Jesse agreed and trained Atton and the scoundrel and assassin became one of the field commanders in Dxun on the Onderonian Civil War. He stayed behind as he requested to help in the restoration of the Republic and the Jedi Order.

Atris was back to being the historian, she had been freed from the Dark Side and vowed never to walk that path again, long before, they had been close friends and he was an adopted student of the older woman in his younger days, it could have been more, hadn't the Mandalorian Wars started and he went out to fight. She fell into despair and hatred and in the end she became a Sith, so it fell to Jesse to save her and that he did after a vicious duel and saving her from the wrath of the Sith holocrons in her possession. Both had made peace and she strived to teach the new generation of the dangers of the Dark Side of the Force.

Then his thoughts went to Brianna…the Handmaiden. In truth the first time he had seen her she glowed with a beauty that was obvious due to her appearance, and he was smitten in a way. They had fallen in love during the time she had been part of his crew and it was a painful thing having to leave her just as Revan left Bastila. Unlike the two however, he had been arguing with her on the day he left. She wanted him to stay and help with the restoration effort, but he refused, saying that as long as the True Sith remained to harm the Republic, then all their efforts would be for nothing. After several hours of their discussion, she tearfully agreed to let him go…but not before asking to stay with her, for as long as he could and to come back alive and safe. It as then that they had their love reach the next level and that made him swear to come back for the sake of not just the Republic and his friends, but for her as well. No he hoped that this mission will soon be over and they could come back to their homes and live for once.

They had gathered large amounts of records concerning the operations of the True Sith Empire, their numbers, their military structure, the planets they had taken and what had they been planning since the end of the Great Hyperspace War. Both Jedi had done their part and gained many allies, liberated slaves and prisoners and established resistance cells and outposts on the worlds they had helped. But like all military leaders, they knew they needed soldiers, ships, Jedi and allies to defeat the True Sith. Once they were able to finish their last sweep o the system in question, they would return home to the Republic and give their reports.

They both turned as they heard the sounds of foot-steps, but these hardly belonged to anything living as the rust red colour of the droid's frame came into view. The droid looked like a protocol droid, but both Jedi knew better, no droid would have cortosis alloy frame and armour, along with shields, weapon mounts, hidden compartments for concealed weapons…and carrying a high powered Charric blaster rifle. This droid was an assassin droid, made by none other than Revan when he was still Dark Lord of the Sith.

"Statement: Masters, we are now arriving at the planet that has been determined by our trash compactor on wheels to be habitable by meat bags, we have locked in the coordinates to the module, the trash compactor also requested that we prepare for landing."

The droid apparently was itching for a fight as it moved it's rifle with joyful movements, like a sociopath on a rage to hunt.

A loud series in indignant bleeps and whistles can out as T3 went over and argued with the taller droid HK-47 by name, once it had gotten out from the astrogation and security room of the Ebon Hawk. Apparently from the astromech droid's tones when it beeped and whistled…it hardly found HK-47's description to be amusing at all.

"Agitated Answer: Oh do shut up you trash can on wheels and get ready for landing! We have much to do and I am quite eager to finally get the chance to introduce my Charric rifle to any meat-bags today."

Both Jedi sighed as the two droids went on their usual triad of arguing with one another. Jesse then faced Revan and gave him a serious look.

"What in the name of the Force possessed you to build HK anyway Rev?"

"Well, he's a fine piece of work, plus he does handle certain jobs well, doesn't he?"

"Forget I asked."

The Ebon Hawk now began to reach the upper atmosphere of the planet Earth, they were now ready to do what they came here to do, scan for any sign of the Sith Empire and when they were done, make their way to the Republic and rest, then plan their next move.

------------

The Force however had other plans as a young child was being trained one more time…

--------------

In Earth…

"NO!!!! I WON'T GO IN THERE AGAIN!!!"

A six year old boy cried out as he struggled violently to escape from the bond that held him, namely the ropes of fish sausage and oil. The sounds of the cats that had not yet eaten sent fear and terror in the boy as he struggled desperately to escape…but it seemed that he was about to endure another training session of the dreaded Cat Fist.

"YOU WILL!!! ARRE YOU A GIRL OR A MAN?!?! NOW GET IN THEIR AND LEARN THE CAT FIST THIS TIME!!!"

Genma Saotome shouted as he finally sent his son Ranma Saotome into the pit and covered it with a heavier lid made of wood and metal. Ranma had gained greater strength but had this weak fear of cats and Genma planned to overcome that by training the boy constantly in the Cat Fist, but there was more and Genma intended to use every option to make Ranma a superior fighter.

Genma had heard that the Cat Fist was the ultimate Fighting Style and resolved for Ranma to master it, those who failed were nothing but weaklings and his son would win where they failed! He would be a true man among men and the Pledge to Unite Schools would finally be completed and he will retire to a life of luxury. To improve the training, he had starved the cats well beyond the prescribed time, hoping to speed up the process.

He praised himself for the insight and genius and took out a bottle of wine he had pilfered and drank it to celebrate his coming victory, and once the Cat Fist was mastered, then it was time to go to Jusenkyo in China!

Little did he realize that his son would awaken a part of him that he was only faintly aware of before…and that at this very moment a pair of Jedi now walked the surface of the land and were mingling in with the people, not far from where he was.

In the pit…

Ranma screamed in fear and pain as all he saw in the darkness was the red eyes of the felines as hunger took over them and they attacked the boy, aiming for the fish sausages and in their frenzy had bitten and clawed the boy, that resulted in Ranma bleeding as the claws and teeth ripped through the cloth as the cats' hunger drove them in desperation to be fed, along with the stench…but with the addition of the smell and taste of warm blood, that drove the cats into an even greater frenzy as they attacked both the boy and the food.

He wanted to see his mother, he wanted to see his friend Ucchan…he wanted to leave all this behind…this pain!!!

"AAAAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!!"

Ranma finally managed to free himself and fight off the cats, but his efforts fed feral rage and hunger in the animals as they attacked him.

Ever since the spikes in his abilities, though small and infrequent, his father had driven him on and on, the boy knew that his so called training games were now nothing more than acts of thievery as he had read a book on good behaviour for children on one accidentally theft and saw that he was doing something totally against the law. Genma considered the book as a nuisance to his training and burned it, Ranma also knew that he had no choice in order to survive, while being with his father, they only lived on the bare necessities and had to do a lot to survive. He ate barely the needed dietary allowance and nutrition for children his age and therefore had a weaker body immune system and his growth had stunted a bit, but Genma's reasoning was that it would harden his stomach, that however didn't stop Genma from eating better than his son at times. He learned to use his ki to heal his wounds, and some of his newly heightened senses to help survive, but his father merely used his increasing abilities for his own ends, stealing food, clothing, supplies and whatnot….but now…something was happening to him.

His fear and terror…began to well up inside of him, along with all the pain from his wounds as he fought back while trying to escape. He found to his ever growing fear that the lid was far heavier then before and he as trapped. The feeling of claws and teeth ripped into him once more as the cats went on the offensive as pain and fear hit the boy at full power and it was nearly driving him mad. The cats continued their attacks…and then he felt something surge inside of him nearly overwhelming him in some ways as he was about to scream…

"AAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

In town…

Revan and Jesse were busy blending into the number of people hat were in the section town they were in. The Ebon Hawk was only a few hours away from them and they had already covered it in camouflage tarp while leaving HK and T3 to secure the ship while they went to do recon work, they had discarded their armour, and lightsabers and wore more simplistic clothes to fit into the rest of the population of the town they were in. Revan removing his Qel Droma robes, and Jesse taking away his Zeison Sha armour. They were garbed in leather jackets, shirts, pants and boots, thus giving them the look of foreigners to the Japanese people. The women, both older and younger didn't seem to mind at all as they gave the two Jedi interested looks

They saw that this world was very much far behind than the other worlds they had seen, the still used old Iron Age technology, they however were concerned only with finding the Sith worked on what they normally did and worked on using their skills at persuasion and the Force to find their answers…but at that exact moment, they felt something…a very strong shiver.

Both Jedi looked at one another and knew quickly what they had just felt was…

A disturbance in the Force…a VERY strong disturbance..

It was then that they and the rest of the people saw a flying lid along with a scream that would have cause blood to go cold with the intense feelings that were in it. But for the two Jedi there was something more than just feelings in the scream, they sensed that the Force was powering the scream.

It was a Force Scream, a technique that used the Force to amplify sound waves and make them lethal with enough mastery. Jesse knew that for a fact since he used it on more than one occasion.

Both Jedi nodded and decided to go and track the disturbance in the Force to determine if it was indeed a Sith.

--------------

Later at a nearby park…

Ranma ran at high speed past buildings and ripping through walls, totally consumed by the Cat Fist and his mind regressed into a feral state as he moved, he attacked several things he perceived as threats and it was a lucky thing that most of the people were not too close and had kept away so leaving the feral boy alone. Some were not as lucky as they ran away wounded and injured. The smell of his blood drove the boy on to escape, the aura of a cat had taken over him. Genma was not aware of the severe mental and psychological trauma Ranma had endured when he had been exposed to the Cat Fist, but doing it six times had finally driven Ranma over the edge. The energy that surged in him made him very aware of his surrounding, but then it spiked as he turned and spotted to men.

One had shoulder length brown hair and green eyes, from what the boy could see and the other had deep blonde hair and deep blue, foreigners from the look of them, they were all well formed, tall, and very strong looking, telling the boy had he been in his normal state, that they were very strong individuals, he also sensed something about them…like a haze or aura that radiated power, but was calm and serene, the kind one would feel in the presence of friends, They were dressed in those commercials he had seen and seemed to be people one could trust. But he was still in the grip of the Cat Fist and considered them as enemies while in is regressed state and the haze of bloodlust in his eyes.

Revan and Jesse were shocked at what they had seen, they had expected a Sith, but as they tracked the presence, they sensed a wild and feral presence but with human distinction, though deeply contained and repressed. Something also told them that the boy's Force aura had been brutally awakened. The boy was covered in filth, refuse, and blood, his blood…the stench on him was horrible and sickening, plus the wounds were like those done by hungry and enraged animals, and the refuse was near such wounds, and could result in poisoning to the blood stream. And his eyes showed that he had just been subjected to such an inhuman torture, so much that his mind had suffered intense mental and psychological trauma and the boy had regressed at a high level. They at first thought that he was a victim of a Sith exercise, as there were traces of the Dark Side in him, but that came from fear and panic.

The boy rushed out with a feral cry and tried to rip into the two disguised Jedi like a predator aiming for a meal. The two Jedi however managed to catch him in mid-air before he could attack with Force Whirlwind. The boy roared fiercely in a blood thirsty and deep seated raged toned and tried to attack with his fingers curled like claws. The two then used the Force to calm down the boy and sooth his violent rage and confusion. Ranma wondered why he felt sleepy and before he knew it he was now asleep. The Jedi then approached him carefully, not minding the smell of the boy as they used the Force to heal some of the wounds and neutralize the possibility of him being poisoned, they then gently probed his mind careful not to hurt him and find out what happened and who was responsible for doing such a horrific thing to a young boy.

What the two saw made them disgusted and horrified. Though not in the same calibre as the Sith, the two Jedi were angered that such a heavy burden was placed on such a young child…and what the child had been through. They wasted little time and began to heal the wounds even further and then used the Force to get water from a nearby pool to finally clean the boy of the blood, dirt, grim and refuse. Once they were done they also began to treat and suppress at least some of the damage done to the mind of the child. They felt that it would take time for the boy to counter his fear of cats, but that was far more preferable than letting the pain fester.

That was when they sensed a certain fat man coming their way.

Genma was surprised at the kind of damage Ranma could do and intended to find a way to harness it. The power was something else, but as he came he spotted both Jedi, he then thought that two foreigners were going to take Ranma from him and when that happened, the Pledge would be for nothing and his dream of the life of luxury would disappear…not to mention what Nodoka would do if her son was not with him.

"What are you doing to my son?!"

The fat man said as he was about to attack both Revan and Jesse in the style of Anything Goes, confident that he could beat the two and reclaim his son, he had done it before.

Revan and Jesse however had seen enough in Ranma's mind to know Genma and with powerful commanding tones, both Jedi spoke, directing the Force at Genma Saotome.

"This boy is NOT your son."

--------------

To be continued…

--------------

This is shorter than most of my works due to the fact that this is my first ever Ranma project to date, so you'll have to forgive the shortness of the work.

This story takes place in the time of Knights of the Old Republic and as such is set four thousand years before the six movies of Star Wars, thus don't expect to see any characters in the time of the Galactic Empire, in this time frame the Jedi Order are near to extinction after the Mandalorian Wars and the Jedi Civil War, and it slowly rebuilding.

The True Sith have not yet struck, but that certain doesn't mean that they won't soon launch an attack on the Republic, which was the reason Revan left in the first place, and Jesse went after him once he had gained the knowledge from Kreia.

Ranma will now have a role to play in the galaxy at large as he has awakened to the Force buried deep inside of him and it's power is indeed growing within.

How will Nodoka take it? Will she allow Revan and Jesse to take her son back to the Republic to be trained as a Jedi?

Will Revan and Jesse take Ranma with them to train him? Or will they merely severe Ranma's connection to the Force to prevent him being used by the Sith Empire and by those who would take advantage of him while on Earth?

But the big question is…What will Genma do now that Ranma is no longer with him? What will he do now that Ranma is no longer with him?

The couple setup for this story is as yet undecided as new and old faces are introduced into the story, both from the Star Wars universe, namely the different humans and near humans that will be present in the worlds that Ranma will be sent to…if he chooses to take up being a Jedi.

But destiny also had a different path for Ranma…that of the Sith and the Dark Side of the Force. Which path will it be?

Find out in Chapter 1…

--------------

KOTOR Terms.

(This is a special bit that will explain certain terms, objects, items, technology and more… so that those who may not be entirely familiar with Knights of the Old Republic will be able to know the meaning.)

**Force Whirlwind** – This technique is used by Jedi to restrain opponents and attackers through the use of the Force manipulate the air currents lift, and to spin their targets, thus effectively restraining them. This is a variation of Force Push and thus is a valued addiction to the Jedi's skills with utilizing the Force. The Sith are also knowledgeable with the technique since like Force Push, Force Whirlwind is considered a Universal Power in the tier of all Force Powers…thus it is part of either Jedi or Sith technique trees and is used in the game as well.

**Zeison Sha** – The Zeison Sha are an order of Force Sensitives who are respected, and recognized due to their survival skills and resourcefulness in battle. The order resides in the planet Yanibar, in the Outer Rim. Since the planet is a harsh and unforgiving planet, the members of the Zeison Sha use the Force to survive effectively in the planet. They all stressed independence, and survival, along with assistance to all those in need.

The lower rank in the Order was the Initiate for the ones who are new to the Zeison Sha, while Warrior is the highest title of any Zeison Sha due to the Warriors being the best in the use of telekinetic Force Powers.

The hallmark of the Zeison Sha is the use of the telekinetic powers of the Force and thus they can perform skills with such great power and minimal effort, such as levitating massive objects, knocking down waves of opponents or event o crush them with the power and will of the Force. Their signature weapon is the discblade, a circular bladed weapon similar to the chakram that they can throw with lethal accuracy and they can recall it back to the hand through the Force, even more so since the discblade is imbued with the Force, further improving the already impressive weapon, the Zeison Sha Order takes itself further by the virtue that they can use telekinesis for defensive purposes such as lifting stones to block blaster fire and even create a physical shield made out of Force energy.

The last trait of the Zeison Sha is that unlike the Jedi in the time, they were able to wear special light armour that was made to allow the Force to be utilized. All armour types were known to restrict a large portion of the Force and it's powers, so the Zeison Sha made modifications to the armour named after them, which can allow them or any Force Adept to use the Force while being better protected though with a slight decrease in movement capacity.

--------------

Reviews and Comments please!


	2. Destinies in the Force

Ranma/Knights of the Old Republic

( ): Thoughts

Disclaimer: I have no ownership of Ranma 1/2 or Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2.

Chapter 1

Destinies in the Force

(( Italic )) : T3's translated language

--------------

Revan was busy running through his data records in the security room of the Ebon Hawk and when he was done he decided to go and see the progress of their young visitor.

After they had used the Force to control and subdue Genma Saotome, they also used the Force to make him go to a police station to confess to some of the crimes he had been committing in the city, the first was to make sure that he was out of the hair of the two Jedi, the second was to make him be punished for what he did, and the last reason was to keep him away from the boy. Such an act would have been considered an abuse of the Force, but from what both he and Jesse had seen, it was a good move on their part, since they had no doubts that the man would do something even more idiotic to the child.

HK and T3 were rightfully surprised when they came back early with a civilian in their hands. HK was wondering if the child was for target practice, but the three others ordered him to forget the idea. The assassin droid was now assigned to act as security detail for the ship while the Jedi tended to their work and to the still present wounds of the unconscious lad. The droid had been programmed to now use a stealth generator by both Revan and Jesse. The droid had been ordered to use lethal force only IF the threat attacked the ship should they find it. The assassin droid was naturally disappointed not being able to 'ventilate' any meat bags with it's weapon, but it followed the orders handed to it by Revan.

Revan then arrived at the medical bay of the Ebon Hawk, where Jesse was checking on the boy. When they arrived, they used kolto to further clean and heal the wounds and to at least remove the smell on the boy, they also removed his torn, bloody, and soiled clothes and got him some new ones. Revan had gone back to town and bought clothes, namely a clean shirt and a pair of pants for the boy and he was happy that they were just the boy's size to wear once he recovered consciousness.

"How is he?"

Jesse turned to face his commander and old friend in the Mandalorian Wars as he finished his last stages of treatment. The Jedi had no choice but break way from their investigations in order to treat the young boy. They were also disgusted by the signs of lack of basic nutrition and healthy growth in the boy. His immune system was still holding on, but the lack of nutrition and haphazard health care was evident, tough now that the boy had tapped into the Force, he was healing well enough to recover gradually.

"He's still exhausted and resting; I gave him some nutrient injections, since he won't be able to eat anything until he wakes up. I'm surprised that he had lived this long under such conditions, there are scars on him, meaning he's been injured before, and badly from the looks of it. He's a real lucky boy to have made it this far."

"I know…he's very lucky."

Both Jedi then made their way to the main hold and sat around the map/communication projector, took to some seats and thought over their current situation.

"We staying here to track down any Sith presence?"

Jesse asked as he leaned back a bit. T3 then rolled in and carried a tray that had two cups of hot caf for both Jedi Knights, both made the way both Jedi liked the hot and calming beverage.

"Thanks T3."

Both Jedi said in gratitude to the astromech droid for bringing them a hot drink to think over the situation they were in. They still had good stocks of food, and supplies…thanks to Jesse and Revan buying needed supplies when the opportunity came.

As they drank the caf, Revan nodded as he set down the cup in his hands.

"It'll take time, but we have to be thorough or else we'll be in real trouble. Once we're done with our search, we can head back to the Republic and give our findings about the Sith Empire for the past few years. But what I am concerned about right now…is what to do with our guest."

Jesse gave a sigh of disgust.

"I can't believe THAT irresponsible son of a Kath Hound is the boy's father!!! A mynock is a far better father than him! How much intelligence does one need to know that doing that to a child is insane anyway?! Who in his right mind would subject a child to such cruelty, SIX times no less?!"

Revan was in agreement with Jesse's assessment of Genma. When they got back to the Ebon Hawk they were able to gleam the facts that today was the SIXTH time the boy had been exposed to such a flawed and insane technique from the boy's memories, they were even more shocked. Plus the other things they had seen made them very much disgusted with Ranma's father. Forcing the boy to steal clothes, food, supplies, all under the pretence of a game, eating only rice, thus contributing to a drop in his regular dietary allowance, along with barely eating right amounts, being insulted and cursed as weak willed and coward if he didn't complete a test or training regime and to push him on. Plus that of the Cat Fist, his mind being twisted and becoming feral, attacking others with bestial rage and anger was a terrifying thing, for both victim and the attacker. Combine that with the Force, then the results would have been too bloody to describe in full detail.

Both Jedi finished their caf and decided not to dwell on that possibility. They wondered if the Force had a reason for them to arrive and then sense the boy's awakened potential when he used his Force Scream. They had not sensed it when they were on this planet for only a short period, but now they could sense considerable talent in the Force from the boy. But they also wondered what would have happened if they did not come here, and the Sith did and they found the boy instead.

Considering the nature of how the boy was awakened to the Force, then the Sith would have little to no difficulty in training him to the use of the Dark Side, combine that with the Cat Fist, then who knew what kind of Sith the young man would become under the tutelage of the Sith Empire…and considering the wealth possessed by the Sith in terms of precious metals and resources…they knew that the fat man who was the boy's father would jump at the chance to get the money and if they read enough, he would then try and steal him back…but stealing from a Sith would be the same as trying to take on a Wookiee in the legendary Wookiee Rage…which by natural rights was VERY unhealthy.

But that also would mean that they would have to come to a decision. And that was to either sever Ranma's connections to the Force…or to train him in the ways of the Force, to become a Jedi. Both options would present advantages and disadvantages as well.

The first option would allow him to live a 'normal' life in technical terms since he would not have much potential in the Force to be sufficient for Sith Warrior training and that would mean that the chances of him being forced to misuse his new abilities would be lessened and then his idiot father would not use him as a meal ticket every chance he got.

However, that would also mean the loss of something that could help him in certain situations. Jesse and Revan knew that others can do things other Jedi could not, but for Jedi…the loss of the Force was a horrible thing to contemplate. Jesse would know, after all…he had been stripped violently of the Force on Malachor 5 and a deep hunger to fill that void was deep in him and he was now aware of the wound when he met the reunited Jedi Masters of Dantooine, before Kreia killed them all. He saw a dark mirror of himself had he given into the brutal hunger for life and the Force in Darth Nihilus, and all this time wandering the universe, he worked hard to avoid giving into the hunger and he was winning, though with greater effort when not in the presence of all his comrades.

Such a loss would no doubt leave behind scars, and considering the way the Force was awakened in the child, that would just deepen the loss. And the Jedi felt that the Force had a plan for the child so they decided that removing the Force would only be done if the boy was willing for it to happen.

The second option was far more promising, The Force was considerably strong in him and that made the young lad a prime Jedi candidate. With the proper training and guidance, he could be able to utilize the hidden powers given by the Force. And both Jedi knew that he would be safe from those who would prey on his newly awakened gifts in the Force…most especially that moronic father of his and the Sith.

However it too had some downsides. The first was the fact that the Jedi would need to ask the consent of the parents of the child to take the boy with them to the Jedi for training. The things they learned about the boy's father made them realize early on that asking for his approval would be out of the question, due to all his dishonorable and foolish actions concerning the boy's life. The mother was also a bit of an odd piece in the sense that they had no idea as to who the child's mother was, if she was alive or not. It would also mean that they had no idea as to how the mother would act, would she listen and agree to the training…or would she say no. Jedi may have been known as heroes, warriors, and diplomats, but not all held Jedi in high regard, namely for several reasons.

The ways of the Jedi were always mysterious and hard to understand, it was even more so when the Jedi refused to aid the Republic during the Mandalorian Wars, and then into the Jedi Civil War. The people also blamed the Jedi for difficulties they encountered, as Jesse found out on Dantooine, where many settlers hated the Jedi in the belief that their arrogance and pride led to the bombardment of their world, and even some of the refugees on Nar Shaddaa blamed the Jedi and the Sith for their current status in the galaxy and the loss of all they loved. Atton Rand was the most effective living example of that view in Jesse's mind.

Another was the fact that most Sith now were once Jedi themselves, they were the ones who started such brutal wars that burned the Galaxy and served to further blur the lines between the Sith and Jedi. Those Jedi who became Sith were lured into the Dark Side by many means and reasons, that when gazed at a certain view-point, was nothing more than inflicting death. Revan knew that all too well when he was still Dark Lord of the Sith, and even Jesse skirted the Dark Side on a few times, namely when his hunger for the Force began to manifest. The founding member of the Sith Order was himself an ancient Jedi named Xendor who founded the Dark Jedi who became the ancestors of the Sith, and the events led to the First Great Schism within the ancient Jedi Order.

One more was the fact that despite the boy's age which was still optimal for him to be chosen, he had already developed ties with his family and those were by most part normal, but the separation from all he loved and cared for was a harsh choice to make and would make it hard for the boy to live out his life in the Jedi Order. They had doubts about the boy's relationship with his father and felt that despite their ties by blood, the boy was now losing respect, understanding, and patience with his male parent, while there were gentler emotions towards his mother. The later was a good thing, but that too would be tested greatly.

The next was the people who considered the recruitment of children at such a young age was a mistake to break apart families, considering Jedi home-wreckers and baby snatchers. This naturally was a foolish suggestion as Jedi would never voluntarily take children from their families, but prefer to speak to the parents and give them the choice of allowing their child to train as a Jedi, if the parents allowed it then the child would be taken to the Jedi for evaluation for Jedi training, and when considered as a Youngling would be trained alongside others like him. If they chose not to allow it, then the matter is settled and the family is left in peace. Despite this meeting of agreement, many still consider such moves as nothing more than a way to break apart families…and therefore, many would not be willing to allow their children to learn the Force. It wasn't always so however…

Long ago in history, the Jedi welcomed whole families into the fold of the Jedi Order, and many were great and powerful Jedi, but Exar Kun corrupted many of them to serve in his side during his time as the Dark Lord of the Sith, the most tragic symbol of the corruption was the fate of both the Qel Droma brothers, Ulic and Cay, the former once thought of doing great good by infiltrating the Sith and the Krath, destroying it from the inside, but was seduced by the Dark Side and it's followers and turned on those he had once called friends, loved ones, and family. After leading the Sith in several bloody massacres and the raid on Ossus, both brothers would meet again…and for the last time. Cay sought to save his brother Ulic even in the midst of battle, and paid for it with his life when Ulic killed him without mercy…but Ulic found out the horror of what he had done, and returned to the Light, however it was too late as his former love Nomi Sunrider severed his tie to the Force, and then the redeemed Jedi aided the Republic one more time before leaving the known Galaxy to exile.

He then was sought out by Vima, Nomi's daughter on Rhen Var and though he was severed from the Force and reluctant to teach anyone in fear of corrupting them, he agreed in the end and while they trained they erected statues to honor the Jedi, such as Master Arca and Nomi's husband Andur. Nomi found them and though the meeting was awkward, she saw that Ulic was finally making peace with himself. However, a Cathar Jedi named Sylvar came to kill Ulic for the death of her mate by the exiled Jedi's own hands, though Ulic at first fought to defend himself, he then refused to fight and finally convinced her to put down her weapon, and spoke his final words before being shot in the heart by the freighter pilot, named Hoggon, who brought him to the planet, then Vima, and then Nomi.

"I cannot change the past. I meant to do good. But the Dark Side is slippery, as you yourself should know. I tried to hide. I tried to die. And finally, I tried to atone. You are not my judge Sylvar. You are simply a pawn of your own emotions. I will not fight you."

As he lay dying on the snows of Rhen Var, in the hands of his former love Nomi, Ulic once more asked for forgiveness for all he had done when in the thrall of the Dark Side, to which in her own tears, she replied she had already given. He then gave a necklace to Vima, thanking his Padawan that through her, he was finally able to forgive himself. In those moments, despite being stripped of the Force, Ulic's body was bathed in energy as his life left him…becoming one with the Force, to which Nomi had explained that only Jedi Masters could accomplish, showing that though he was stripped of the Force he was a Jedi Master both in Rank, Heart, and Spirit.

Though Ulic's redemption was a shining beacon to many, the price he had to pay to be redeemed was seen as too emotional and damaging to any person to bear, with all the conflicting emotions that went with it. Thus came the policy of taking children who are young to ensure that in some ways, they would not be forced to endure such emotions that could be easily preyed upon by the Dark Side. It was a policy that many would see as a double edged sword, one side did avoid certain emotions that were used by the Dark Side, the other was that it added emotional pain and separation and could also lead to the Dark Side.

Revan and Jesse knew the history and they understood the pros and cons of such a policy, so therefore they felt that until they were absolutely sure about all the needed information, it was not their place to take the boy for training. For now all they had to do was help the boy recover while keeping him safe. The boy would recover in time so they had a lot of things left to do.

Revan's life was the same when he was found by the Jedi Order, like all Padawans, he had parents, ancestors, and a home-planet. But those were forgotten, though the Council did state that in their re-programming of his shattered mind that he was from Deralia. When he recovered his identity and his past, he forsook the ties he had to the Dark Side and went after Malak…and even if Deralia was never his home, he chose instead to go there and have his and Bastila's wedding ceremony there. Though his true home-planet would never be known to him now he accepted that and focused what was needed to be done.

Jesse was likewise on the same boat. He was a native of the planet Naboo, and had once been part of the Naboo nobility, but his father chose to marry out of the social ladder and married a commoner…who was also Force Sensitive. The marriage was frowned upon, but still respected, and like all Padawans who were found, he too was sensed by a Jedi, none other than his now deceased Master and friend, Kavar who sponsored his training.

Both of them adjusted well, but they also understood how hard it would be for some who were young to be separated from their families, Revan's wife Bastila was a good example, the wounds between her and her mother Helena had been left open until they both sealed it on Tatooine. Such feelings were hard to ignore and took time to understand. But that was still a decision left for the boy to take, and so the same would be said for his parent.

Revan then thought it over. "I think it would be best that we find out just how our guest is, I have no idea who he is or his last name. We will need to find out more before we're going to make a final judgment on what we must do with him."

"Hack into the database?" Jesse asked.

"Yes, but first we'll need to know who the boy's father is, then we can know his name and also locate his mother. I don't recommend bringing T3 though, since this is a world where space travel is still in the infancy stage. I serious don't recommend bringing HK either."

Both Jedi knew that this would be a covert op, and bringing either droid was asking for trouble. HK was too low a choice due to his violent nature and since they knew next to nothing of this world they were in, bringing the assassin droid would be trouble. T3 was also out of the question since he was an astromech droid, though he could be understood by both Jedi, the idea of a man speaking the language of droids would raise suspicions. So for now it meant one of them would have to go ahead and gain the information.

Jesse nodded in agreement and went to the cargo hold and took some clothes that they had purchased recently to blend in. Later the former Jedi General headed off to the ship and went into the town.

Revan then went into the medical bay and was thankful that the air-filters in the medical bay dealt with the stink, he knew that once the boy recovered, he would have to eat and take a shower to clean up, but Revan put that aside, having been in the Taris Under City and the sewers, and the Shadow-lands of Kashyyyk…he was quite used to the smell. He then placed his hand on Ranma's head and used the Force to gently probe his mind…a few seconds afterwards…

He took away his hands and looked at the resting child and saw him struggle slightly, he had just known the boy's name and saw him having a nightmare. He knew that he had other matters to attend to and decided to let the boy alone, but remained nearby so as to make sure the boy did not hurt himself.

"Nice to meet you Ranma Saotome."

--------------

The Police Station…

The desk officer was busy reading the weekly news magazine and drinking some cold juice when he spotted a man walking into the station. Apparently a foreigner, European from the looks of him, with the blonde hair and blue eyes. The officer wondered what a foreigner would be doing here. Most people in Japan were tolerant or friendly to foreigners, though many still called them gaijin. He wasn't one of them and could see that the man excluded a professional air and thus deserved to be treated with respect. He put down both the magazine and his cup and greeted the man while some female officers in the room smiled as they gazed at the new arrival.

"Good evening sir! My name's Tei Ryoko, I'm the desk officer, if you have any inquiries you can talk to me."

He replied in accented English, a bit unsure if the man knew how to speak English.

"Thank You Officer, my name is Jesse Renard."

The disguised Jedi Knight answered as he walked over to the officer. He had recalled tracing the place where Genma Saotome was being held prisoner.

"Pleased to meet you, now what is it you came over to speak about sir?"

"You wouldn't happen to have a man by the name of Genma Saotome in custody by any chance?"

Tei's eyes narrowed at that as he checked the back of the station, where the jail cells were.

"As a matter of fact we do have him in here. But we're trying to keep that knowledge from the public, both for our safety and his."

"Oh?"

"The man's not exactly loved around here Sir, he's been known to steal clothes, food, tools, condiments…you name it. Every restaurant owner from the Eastern side to the Western side is after him for eating in their establishments and then high-tailing it out before paying the bills. He's done that routine in practically every restaurant from both sides and they are NOT happy…not to mention the others who he stole from are dying to get their hands on him. If they found out that Genma Saotome was in this prison…we'd have a riot on our hands."

Jesse nodded, he didn't know that the fat idiot was THIS popular.

"What's your interest in him by the way?" Tei asked as he gazed at Jesse, the handsome foreigner seemed to be someone of great importance since the police officer saw from the way he moved, that he was a person of great authority…maybe Genma had been stupid enough to involve himself on the wrong side of this man, he hoped not, but considering what a dunce Genma was, it would be hardly surprising if he DID make such a foolish mistake.

"The man was caught interfering in one of my company's business deals, you see, we deal with custom computers and he tried to steal some of our new models for sale, we managed to get the item back…but the systems were wrecked due to him mishandling the equipment, and he owes us a very tidy sum of money. I was sent here by my…boss to find out more on him, and since you have him in your custody sir, I would like to know as much as I can about him."

Jesse hated to lie, but this was a necessary evil in some ways in order to get to the bottom of the whole mess and sort things out, besides, from what he was able to gleam from Genma's mind previously…the fat man was not immune to lying through his teeth. And though he disliked the idea of implanting a false memory into another person, it was something he was willing to deal with.

"I see…well, what can I say, he scores low in both morals and intellect in any normal man's book, he has a son named Ranma Saotome, good kid by heart, cute too, but is always being used by his dad to steal things, he's done it a lot that we're considering putting him in juvenile detention until we decide what to do with him despite being so young. From what we've gathered the guy's engaged his son since he was in diapers not once, but multiple times all for food, clothing, and supplies, and to really spice things up, the fat guy goes back on his word and steals the boy away. That means that since he's done this more than once, there are a LARGE number of families who are looking for that youngster now and force him to marry their daughter, the one he was pledged to marry by that fat idiot of a father. I'm not envious of him, personally I think the kid will suffer a mental break-down early if he found that out…not to mention the fact that his father didn't even seem to care about it, the boy when we saw him looked underfed and lacking the recommended dietary allowance for kids his age to have, which could mean the old man hogs all the food for himself while the kid gets what bare food is left…it's disgusting, not to mention that for the brief times we caught him before he escapes…we saw scars on him, scars on a six year old…anyway, Genma Saotome has a wife named Nodoka Saotome who lives in the Fuchu district, last we heard from our sources, she's a nice enough woman, a little eccentric, but on the overall a model woman, can't imagine why she'd marry a louse like Genma though. Here's her address."

Tei then handed an address card to Jesse who read the address and mentally stored it. He then thanked the officer and replied that with this data, they might be able to deal with Genma's problem making ways. He made his way to the cells and spotted Genma who was still trying to convince the guards by begging to let him go, crying tears, saying that he needed to be free to help Ranma walk on the right path of being a true martial artist and a man of honor.

(You are the LAST person to speak of honor you fat son of Hutt!)

Jesse thought furiously as he listened to the audacity the man had. He had SEEN what kind of treatment the boy had gone through and saw WHAT the man made his son do and it made him even more angry…Jesse then resisted the urge to act on his anger and calm himself, if he attacked Genma and used the Force, it would attract attention, and he had to maintain his cover as a visiting foreigner who had a score to settle with Genma due to him stealing and destroying computer prototypes of the company he worked for. He then decided to make his case a bit more believable.

He then was given the folder of information by one of the desk officers, all of them then glared at the pitiful way Genma was begging to be released to do what he could to make sure his son was safe.

--------------

Back at the Ebon Hawk…

"You got what you needed Jesse?"

Jesse nodded to Revan. "Here's all the data I was able to get on that fat idiot and the name of the kid we have. He's known as…"

"Ranma Saotome, I know since he mentioned his name in his sleep." Revan replied as he began to read the information before him, which unfortunately was still in the Japanese alphabet. He then walked over to T3 and smiled at the astromech droid.

"T3, can you hack into the world's data archives from here and translate all this for me?"

The droid beeped and affirmative as it scanned all the data in the folder as Revan turned the pages and then the droid went on it's way to the security/computer room of the Ebon Hawk and went to work.

"I'll go do what we came here to do, but I recommend we make sure the kid won't be shocked out of his skin, if he wakes up now and finds himself here, he might think he's been abducted by aliens." Jesse said as he got ready to leave for his part in searching for the Sith that might be here on Earth..

Revan agreed and then reached his com-link.

"HK, I need you up here on the ship immediately."

"Agreeing Statement: I am on my way there now Master."

It didn't take long for the Assassin Droid to arrive and face it's creator, just as Jesse got into the clothes he bought and moved out. The droid still carried it's Charric disruptor rifle and Revan could tell that it was more than willing to introduce the business-end of the weapon to any foe he had in mind to eliminate with as much subtlety as the droid could manage.

"Query: Do you want something or someone dead Master?"

Revan smirked a bit and shook his head.

"Not today HK…I want you to check up on our young guest in the Medical Bay. Keep him there and make sure to inform me and Jesse when the child awakens and keep him from trying to escape the ship until we get there."

"Statement: I shall do my best Master."

As the droid walked away, Revan then called the droid and gave his final orders concerning Ranma Saotome. The droid was very zealous in it's duties and there was always the distinct possibility that the assassin droid may use lethal force to keep the child from escaping the ship…and that was one thing the Jedi Knight wanted to avoid.

"And HK…use NON-LETHAL methods to keep the boy from escaping."

"Weary Agreement: I shall endeavor not to use any methods to scar the child meatbag Master."

--------------

In the Medical Bay… an hour or two later…

Ranma struggled in his bed…dealing with many dreams, he could feel something had healed his body and yet it wasn't enough from keeping his nightmares away from him…as the young boy began to awaken he heard voices in his head.

_Are you a man or not?! Quit whining!!!_

_Father?_

_You grow up to be a strong man among men._

_Mother?_

_Why?! You said you were going to take me with you!!!_

_Ucchan?_

That was whenother voices came to him…

_You will be a great warrior of the Force…_

_Force…what is the Force?_

That was when he saw two figures…both with hoods on, both wielded a weapon that looked like a laser sword, the same kind he had seen in some science fiction movies, both wore strange clothes, but that was where they were different.

One had clothes that spoke of power, peace, knowledge, compassion, courage and love…this one wielded a blue colored blade and there was the feeling of faith, gratitude, and hope in him as he struck down dark figures. The kind of being that many would rally to and would bring hope and the future to them. And to serve as sword and shield to the helpless.

The other had clothes that spoke of both power and knowledge, but had brutality, hatred, anger, fear, greed, and selfishness about it…this one wielded a blood red blade, and there was a feeling of fear, hopelessness, despair as he cut down anything he saw. The kind of being that summoned evil and nurtured the darkness in one's heart giving it the power to crush the future…

The figures suddenly turned off their weapons and faced him, but the shadows in the hood's insides stopped him from seeing their respective faces…they placed their weapons aside and they reached for their hoods…and in Ranma's dream they seemed to merge, one side of the now single being was the good side…the other was the evil side…and then the hood fell.

One side of the face was that of the one wielding the blue sword…that face sparkled with life and seemed to glow with a light that banished the darkness…the eyes showing peace, compassion, mercy, courage and honor…the skin was flawless and smooth…with a healthy glow.

The other side of the face was the one wielding the red sword…that face seemed to glow with death and had a darkness in it that swallowed all light and smothered the spirit, perverting it…the eyes showed anger, hatred, greed, rage, sorrow and deceit…the skin was grey…filled with broken blood vessels…and seemed to consume itself.

The face inspired both awe and fear, hope and despair, good and evil…two sides of life…but what made Ranma truly focused on that face was…

It was HIS face…he was looking at himself!!!!

Ranma screamed as he finally opened his eyes and then was surprised to find himself in clean clothes…not the grimly, smelly stained clothes had and he seemed to smell…clean and fresh, he then felt his wounds…they were gone…GONE!!!

"What happened?!"

That was when he saw the blood red eyes of HK-47…

"Amused Statement: Ah…I see you are awake child meatbag…though I am not aware of what language you speak of since you're dialect is not recorded in my data archives and vocabulator. I am HK-47, and you are in my master's vessel, the Ebon Hawk…and now I must remind you not…"

Ranma however wasn't listening, the fact was that looking at a seven and a half foot tall rust colored droid that had the natural strength to break normal steel, bones, and other things, plus being programmed to be completely blood-thirsty and a certified sociopath killer on a scale that would have made a whole row of death row convicts on Earth look like a boy-scout troop, and armed with a nasty Charric rifle…made Ranma only do one thing.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

"…to scream."

--------------

It was at this point that T3 had finished gathering the data for Revan and had finished translating the Japanese language and alphabet into Galactic Basic…and when Jesse came back after doing some more recon work and was now talking with Revan in the main planning room next to the map/communication projector that they heard Ranma scream.

Both Jedi reflexively took out their lightsabers, Revan took out his bronze colored lightsaber that had the Heart of the Guardian crystal, one of the Solari crystals, and a Krayt Dragon Pearl installed, while Jesse took out his pair of silver colored lightsabers, his main saber had his personal crystal inside, along with an Ultima Pearl, while his other lightsaber had a Lorrdian Gemstone, and an Ankarres Sapphire installed. Both Jedi then relaxed as they realized that it meant to the Jedi one thing.

"I guess that means he's awake…you didn't happen to ask HK to guard him did you?"

Jesse asked as he looked at Revan with a curious eye.

Revan had the decency to sigh and look guilty. "I did, T3 was busy with the work and I had to maintain security detail…and you were out."

"Well…nothing we can do about it…better get in there and help him before something bad happens."

Both Jedi placed back their sabers and made their way to the Medical Bay of the Ebon Hawk…just in time to hear Ranma shout out in fear and his dialect.

--------------

"S…S…STAY…STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!! DON'T MAKE ME HURT YOU!!!"

Ranma backed away from HK in absolute fear and was now off the bed and was now in a combat stance…he didn't know what was going on and he was scared, back then he'd be brave and face it…but seeing a machine that seemed to be so dark was enough to make him panic but he still wasn't going to back down…despite the fact he was famished and thirsty.

The assassin droid on the other hand was amused even more…as he replied in Galactic Basic since he was not able to speak the tongue Ranma spoke, but Ranma's posture and actions told the assassin droid the child's intentions.

"Amused Query: How do you propose to harm me child meatbag? I happen to be made out of heavy alloy and cortosis weave, plus I happen to have a built in set of shields. Greeting: Masters! I am happy to see you both have returned! Hopeful Query: Have I completed your objectives Master?"

Revan nodded while still wearing his robe and hood. "You have HK, power down and recharge for a while… we'll deal with it from here."

"Query: Are you sure of that Master?"

"Yes."

"Agreement: Very well Master, HK powering down."

The droid went limp and looked to be drained of power, but in reality was recharging itself…this allowed both Revan and Jesse access into the room, the former Dark Lord of the Sith and Prodigal Knight took off his hood and spoke.

"Greetings young Ranma Saotome…are you feeling all right? I hope HK didn't frighten you too much?"

Ranma relaxed just a fraction as he spotted the two men walk in, the one who took off his hood was the owner of that scary droid and he nearly though he'd be one of the scary guys he had seen in all those science fiction flicks he had seen, that was not true as the man seemed to be calm, peaceful, yet powerful…having been trained as a martial artist, Ranma learned the methods on how to judge a person's skill by observation…and he saw that Revan was very powerful, skilful and more. He turned to Jesse and saw the same in the former Jedi Exile…both men were VERY strong and something about them…like an aura that he could not easily see, made them look even more powerful. Revan spoke in Galactic Basic, which sounded English spoken by Europeans, so Ranma thought that he and Jesse were foreigners.

Revan then recalled as much as he could on the Japanese alphabet and language and then tried to speak it slowly.

"My name is Revan, I am not here to harm you Ranma...please calm down."

Ranma's eyes widened…how did he learn to speak Japanese so well?! They had barely met and he knew how to speak Japanese…and worse…he knew his name!!!

"HOW DID YOU KNOW JAPANESE?! HOW DID YOU KNOW MY NAME?!?!"

Revan then used a small portion of the Force and spoke again.

"Please calm down Ranma…I am not here to harm you, I will tell you soon, but please understand that we are not here to harm you."

Ranma held his ground and yet was getting more tired, his willpower was what kept him up along with adrenaline and fear, but that was running out as he dropped his guard and sat on the floor…that was when his stomach growled, telling him that he had nothing to eat since that day he had been tossed into the pit of cats. He tried to wipe away the fear of it along with his pangs of hunger.

Both Jedi sensed both feelings and Jesse wordlessly walked away and went to the Ebon Hawk's cargo bay and into their supplies. The Jedi came back and kneeled before Ranma and tore open a ration pack, containing some dried nerf meat and protein bars. He handed the rations to Ranma, and Revan also brought out a bottle of water.

Jesse spoke then, but was speaking in Galactic Basic.

"Here…these should help, take it, we have more if you need some."

Ranma didn't know what Jesse said, but his actions were enough to tell the boy that the food and drink was his…his hunger got to him as he pounced on the packs and the food, eating away, the food filled his stomach and his hunger pangs lessened and some measure of calm began to seek in…making him feel better.

Revan then handed a data-pad to Jesse containing the language Ranma spoke and allowed his fellow Jedi a few minutes to learn the language as he brought some more food and drink for their guest…while making sure he didn't choke himself…though both of them were amazed at how fast he inhaled the food given to him. Revan admitted one thing…this child would have given his old Wookiee friend Zaalbar a run for his credits.

Ranma was happy as the food filled his stomach as he ate dried nerf meat, some air cakes, hot Dew cake, grain bars, and some Bristlemelon slices. As soon as he felt full, he drank water and some Blue milk, aware that the milk like liquid was colored blue but tasted good…very good. As he was now full, he looked at both Revan and Jesse.

"Where…am I?"

Both Jedi nodded at one another as Jesse spoke calmly, now able to speak Japanese…both Jedi learned the language quickly…due to their Force Comprehension, an ability that allowed Jedi and Sith to learn at a far better pace than normal people could.

"You are on the Ebon Hawk."

--------------

Later…

"Are you really from outer space?! But you're human like me!" Ranma said wide eyed as he was told that Revan and Jesse were from other planets. Despite the fact that he was only six years old, Ranma thought that people like him and others were only found on Earth, and that was true…now that perception was challenged as Revan and Jesse told him that they were other worlds with humans in them, namely Revan's adopted home-planet of Deralia, and Jesse's own home-planet of Naboo.

Both Jedi knew that this would have to be expected since this world had not yet reached the ability to explore the outer regions of their own solar system, none of the civilizations had even colonized other stars, let alone have hyper drive technology, along with the still ongoing use of slug throwers. However, they knew that since they were in the uncharted Unknown Regions, it was understandable that not all civilizations were that high up in the technological ladder.

"I can understand you're reluctance in believing such things Ranma, but what we told you is the absolute truth about us." Revan replied calmly and as he could. He didn't plan on shocking the boy too much about the vastness of the universe, but he was not going to lie about it,

Ranma looked at both Revan and Jesse and could sense somehow that they were not lying to him, and his young mind began to wander about the other worlds he had been told that existed far beyond his world and even his own solar system, despite not really taking a heavy interest in the sciences, no doubt due to Genma's influence, the boy was fascinated by many of the technological appliances he had seen. Even if he was in the Medical Bay still, it was still very advanced by his standards and that made him wonder what else he could learn.

Despite his fear of the massive, blood/rust colored droid earlier, he had to admit that it was very advanced, and the small droid with one eye that came around to speak to the two men seemed to be very unique, not just in looks, but in design as well, though he had yet to understand what the robot was saying.

"So…just who are you, I now know that you're not from Earth, but you seem to be martial artists."

Jesse smiled a bit.

"Very astute Ranma, however, it would be best that you get some rest, you've had quite a day and when you're feeling better, then we can tell you what we can."

Despite his desire to learn more, Ranma indeed felt very tired and decided to lie back on the bed of the Medical Bay and went to sleep…his full stomach helped him at that state and now he was sleeping peacefully.

Revan looked at him and thought about it once more, namely on what to do with him and thought that as soon as he was well enough, he would be shown just who they were, Jesse thought the same as he knew that since they had taken Ranma in, it would now be best that they taught him just who they were.

--------------

The next day…

Ranma awakened to the sounds of beeping and turned his head to see the smaller of the two droids whistling and beeping, and flashing it's single eye. The sad part was that since he was unfamiliar with the droid language known to the rest of the Known Galaxy as Droidspeak, he could not understand T3.

"What is it?" The young boy asked in Japanese as he tried to find out just what the machine was trying to tell him.

T3 was busy with his rounds and decided to check up on the boy to take him outside of the ship to meet up with Revan and Jesse, the two Jedi were currently sparring with one another out at a nearby valley, far from any civilian population centers. The droid wanted to show the young boy just who he was saddled with. He understood Japanese since Revan had encoded the language into his translation protocols, though the little astromech droid could not say it himself.

((_Come on…if you keep staying in that bed all day, you won't be able to see Master Revan and Master Jesse in training!!! _))

However, since Ranma didn't know Droidspeak he was not able to understand just what was it T3 wanted from him, and due to this, he was rather resistant.

"Hey! Give a me a few more minutes of sleep for Kami's sake!!!" Ranma shouted as the droid continued to speak to him. This went on for several moments until Ranma decided to get out of bed and sighed.

"All right, all right, what is it you want?" The young boy asked in an irritated tone as he decided to find out just what the astromech droid wanted from him.

T3 wheeled out of the Medical Bay and went through the main area of the Ebon Hawk and past the massive holographic communicator/map projector in the middle of the hold. Ranma was in awe as he finally saw the large hold of the Ebon Hawk, with all the computers and systems…however T3 was adamant in making him follow that he barely had time to look and followed the Droid.

They then arrived out of the Ebon Hawk and headed off to the valley where the two Jedi were sparring.

Ranma wondered at first what they were doing out here, and was abut to ask what was going on until he heard sounds of…energy, like currents hitting each other, curious as to what was the sounds and what was making it, he swallowed his question and followed T3…and found himself staring at both Jedi as they sparred.

--------------

Revan and Jesse were busy doing a normal routine that they had established in their travels, since both men were Jedi Guardians and Jesse being a Weapon Master, both needed to train in order to keep their edge in a possible battle situation, thus they sparred with one another. Both Jedi were currently using the full tier of lightsaber styles at one another, namely Revan was currently using Ataru and Jess was using Soresu to counter the attacks his former Commander threw at him at Ataru's trademark lightning speed.

Revan unleashed several powerful slashes and leaped into the air, in a roll and upon landing, made a forward cartwheel and slashing downwards on Jesse, the Jedi Weapon Master used his left held silver lightsaber to block the attack, and Revan avoided the strike from the silver lightsaber in Jesse's other hand. Revan then back flipped over Jesse in amazing speed and grace and lashed out with several high speed slashes at the Jedi Exile, Jesse used the defensive specialty of Soresu by moving his sabers in short sweeping arcs in his own brand of incredible speed and power as Revan's attacks couldn't easily bypass Jesse's defense.

As soon as Revan attacked several more times, Jesse switched the pace by blocking Revan's next attack and then following up with a powerful strike of his own, the strike was unexpected and Revan had to revert blocking with a Soresu move of his own. As soon as that happened, Jesse used Ataru to change the pace, while Revan used Makashi to equalize. Both Jedi were moving at amazing speed and attacking deadly and precise skill. Though Ataru would be at a disadvantage in a duel against a seasoned Makashi duelist in enclosed areas, and the same could be said with some of the other styles, out in the open fields, things were a different story.

Jesse flipped and somersaulted in various angles and areas to both attack Revan and hamper his ability to strike with Makashi, while Revan's use of Makashi forbade Jesse to launch far more effective attacks against him. At the last flip however, Jesse blocked the thrust with a move similar to Soresu but counter attacked at the same time, showing his use of Shien, Revan knew that normally Shien was weak against a single foe, but Jesse was among the few Jedi he recalled to overcome that weakness through hard work and training.

As the two Jedi continued to spar…unleashing powerful and graceful blows at one another, Ranma could only on in awe and respect. He had never seen anything like this before, either styles the two Jedi were using, or their lightsabers. If he thought that they were just powerful fighters, then what he was seeing now just pushed the bar a lot higher! They moved with a speed that was impossible, and their skills were amazing.

As soon as both Jedi relaxed their stances and faced Ranma, he could only say one thing.

"THAT WAS SO COOL!!!!"

The two faced the young boy with looks of surprise and then looked at T3 who seemed to be very interested and impressed in his own way. Both Jedi then deactivated their lightsabers and walked over to a nearby tree, who's branches held a pair of towels. As soon as he wiped a small sheen of sweat from his eyes, Revan smiled at Ranma and spoke calmly at the awe-struck young boy.

"Did you like the show?"

Ranma nodded enthusiastically as his eyes were glued to the two men's respective lightsabers, as the cylinders were now hanging on the belts of the Jedi Knights. Ranma was about to try and take one of Jesse's lightsabers, wondering how the weapon worked, when the Weapon Master stopped him with a warning look.

"Don't try to take my lightsaber Ranma! A lightsaber is more than a weapon, it is a symbol of my ties as a Jedi Knight, don't try and take it."

Ranma pulled away his hand, ashamed that he was about to steal something from a person who treated him with kindness, kindness that in some way, due to the things he had done, he might not have deserved, and here he was, doing something that seemed wrong.

"Sorry…I…"

Jesse's face softened and he reached out to ruffle Ranma's hair in a playful manner, making the young boy look up at him.

"Sorry also, it's just not polite to try that, listen, I think me and Revan owe you a story, apart from some break-fast, right?"

"You're treating me out?" Ranma asked in surprise. This was the first time he was being invited to eat out with anyone.

"Yes."

--------------

Later as they were in the Ebon Hawk, Ranma was having a funny time as he taught both Jedi a thing or two about Earth, namely on Japanese culture and food. The two Jedi took the time to take Ranma back to the city under their protection but they were somewhat surprised at the manner on how the people of Fuchu…or anywhere else in Japan for that matter ate food, namely the dish called sushi and sashimi, all of which had raw fish, and meat, with light or no sauce. Not to mention the use of chop-sticks, the two Jedi were somewhat confused as they took the meals with them back to the still hidden ship.

The restaurant owners at first were not happy to see Ranma again and were about to chase him out, but the presence of the two Jedi, who were wearing normal attire, that is attire used by foreigners was enough for them not to try anything, whoever the men were, they seemed to have the situation in hand as they kept an eye on the young lad. Even so…they glared somewhat at Ranma as the three took their food, though some female customers were looking at the trio rather warmly.

For once since yesterday, the young boy was teaching his saviors a thing or two himself, and the two men were smiling as he showed them how to use chop-sticks and they dug into the food, finding the strangely made food items rather nice. As the three took in their break-fast, HK and T3 were on their own routine duties, the assassin droid was on routine patrol, though all three members of the Ebon Hawk crew, the Jedi and the astromech droid could tell that HK was nearly going insane without any meatbags to turn into dead carcasses for nearly the past two to three days.

As the three finished their meals, Jesse took the time to check up on the Ebon Hawk and took T3 with him to do some routine maintenance checks on the ship, just to be on the safe side…leaving Revan to speak to the young boy…namely about who they were.

"So what kind of martial artists are you anyway?" Ranma asked, as he chewed on a piece of dried nerf-meat. The meat may be dry, but it certainly tasted nice to the young man.

Revan smiled as he sat in front of Ranma, the two of them were currently in the left side dormitories…the same one that he and Bastila had been in when they discussed their relationship…and where he first kissed her. Revan reluctantly put those thoughts aside as he faced the young man who was waiting for an answer to his question.

"We are Knights of the Jedi Order."

"What is a Jedi?"

"Jedi are people, who are Human, Near Human, Alien, and Humanoid who have the ability to tap into the Force, the Force is what gives the Jedi their unique powers and abilities. The Jedi are mediators, diplomats, and warriors in the Republic and have been so ever since the birth of the Galactic Republic, and as such we try to keep the peace in the Known Galaxy. I can't exactly say how old the Jedi Order is, but we have been in existence for a very, very long time. Originally the Jedi were once a collection of scholars, priests, warriors, philosophers, and scientists who studied the Force and it's effects and origin, and we use the Light Side or the good side of the Force if you will, over the years, the normally secretive first Jedi took center stage and became what they are now, protectors of the Galactic Republic, after…the First, Second, and Third Great Schisms, it is also the time the Jedi no longer used Force-imbued weapons, and used advanced technology to create the first lightsabers."

"So…are you like some kind of police force? And what is the Force?"

Revan smirked slightly.

"In answer to you're first question, yes, we are somewhat similar to a police force, though we try not to meddle too deeply in the affairs of others unless we have no other choice, we however are called in to settle disputes and conflicts, hopefully to ensure they do not escalate into a disaster. The answer to you're second question is the Force is an energy field that is generated by all living things, thus every life form has the Force flowing through them, though there are those who can feel and use it, while others cannot even hear it's whispers. The people who can hear the Force, but are not trained by the Jedi…or the Sith, are called as Force Sensitives, before Jesse and I were part of the Jedi Order, we were also labeled as such and at around you're age or less, were chosen to train in the Jedi Order. To the Jedi, and the Sith the Force is a powerful ally and nothing is impossible with the Force…let me show you some of the basics first."

Revan took out a long-sword and with the Force, lifted the weapon up into the air and made it spin and move in the basic sword motions of attack and defense, much to the awe of the young boy. The Jedi then began to disassemble the long-sword into both edge and grip and back again into a single sword. The Jedi then took out several more items, namely a pair of data-pads and some stones and also moved them about in the air. A few minutes later, the Former Sith Lord placed the items down and looked at the young man.

"That was…that…was so COOL! How did you do that?! Moving things around without touching them, but if those are just the basics of the Force…what else can you do?"

Revan understood Ranma's enthusiasm in wanting to see more, but he had to stop in order for him to have a serious discussion with the young man…namely since he had the Force in him, so far it was considerable, but after touching his mind and seeing the dream Ranma himself had, he knew that it was important to know just what path the young man was walking on.

"Tell me something first Ranma…why are you on this training journey with you're father?"

Ranma finished his meal and thought back on the reason why for the past six years, he had journeyed with his father, all throughout Japan.

"Well….it was because my dad wanted me to be the greatest martial artist in the world, and to be a man among men."

Revan mentally shook his head, if that was the case, then this was going to be a lot harder than he originally thought. Not to mention that this dream could be twisted fairly well by the Sith if they had ever found Ranma. His ego, which at this point had been somewhat slightly sizeable and was easy prey for the Sith, and if there was one thing the Sith were know for, they loved to feed the ego of their intended apprentices and that made them easier to mold. And only focusing in combat was a mistake, there was more to life than merely fighting, that much he and Jesse knew of.

"And exactly how old were you when you took this…journey with you're father?"

"I was still a young baby…maybe two or three years old."

(This is going to be a lot more complicated than I thought. Oh well, Jolee may like being cryptic, but I don't.)

"The reason I asked you those questions is the fact that you are like me and Jesse as well."

Ranma's eyes widened at that announcement.

"You're saying I can…"

Revan nodded seriously. "You can use the Force, and from what I have felt in you, it is strong…very strong."

Ranma's mind began to wonder at the possibilities of what he could do with the Force and what it could give him. Revan however knew more about the Force, being strong in it himself, and in both his times as a Jedi Knight and the Sith Lord he knew that the Force could be both a valuable ally and a dangerous enemy, and the last thing he wanted was someone as young and impressionable as Ranma using his powers for the wrong reasons, in that regard, the Force and be both gift and curse.

"Before you get any bright ideas on using the Force, there are some things you need to know Ranma, the first is that you still need to undergo training to use the Force properly, and the second is that it takes years to master the Force, sometimes even more to truly understand it's mysteries…and it can be both gift and curse to you, a gift if you use it to protect life, give hope, heal injury and pain, and help others…and a curse if you use it for greed, anger, fear, lust for power, to cause suffering, and take away hope. The first as you know is the path of the Jedi…the other path, the Dark Side of the Force, is the way of the Sith."

"Who are the Sith?"

Revan sighed, he knew that sooner or later that this part of the discussion was going to come up.

"The Sith were once Jedi…they fell to the Dark Side of the Force, and used the Force to gain what they wanted, even if it meant harming others. Long ago…the first of the Exiled Jedi who followed the Dark Side of the Force during the First Great Schism waged war with the Republic and the Jedi, they did so much damage to the Republic and other worlds, and continued to do so, as many other Jedi fell to the Dark Side in the Second and Third Great Schisms. The history is very long, so suffice to say…the Sith embody the darkness of all life and use the Force to gain what they want…even if it means killing others to do it, regardless if the victims are innocent, male, female, and child. They pillaged worlds and corrupted the hearts of those with the Force to make them the servants of the Dark Side, and many of them rained death and fear on so many people."

Ranma was silent at first and asked Revan the next question.

"How come you know so much about them if you are a Jedi and they are you're…Order's enemies?"

"Because Ranma…I used to be one of them."

Ranma's eyes widened and he was shocked to learn that the kind and highly skilled man before him was once a Sith.

Revan saw the change in Ranma's face and replied.

"Not only that, I was once the Dark Lord of the Sith, in my time as a Sith Lord, I devastated the Republic after serving on their side in the Mandalorian Wars, my apprentice…Darth Malak, and I, along with our forces conquered many planets and millions were dying by the hands of those who followed us…corrupted Jedi and Republic troops… even if the Jedi Order and the Republic fought side by side once more against us, and even had some victories…we had the entire Known Galaxy by the throat."

Remembering the battles he waged was not always possible for Revan due to his amnesia, but those that he recalled reminded him on how seductive the Dark Side was and how his once noble plans to fight the True Sith were twisted, and at times he wondered, if had he remained on the path of the Dark Side…would that be enough to defeat the True Sith and their Empire…he would never know…and in this case…it was better that way.

"Then…what happened…why did you return to being a Jedi?"

Revan sighed a bit and smiled slightly.

"My former comrades in the Jedi Order ambushed my flagship, and a small Jedi strike team fought their way to me. There I was prepared to beat them…until Malak betrayed me and shot at my ship's bridge, by all rights it should have ended there…but it didn't, and I thank the Force for that. I was kept alive by a young female Jedi Padawan named Bastila Shan, and the Jedi made me whole again and gave me a new identity to try and keep my darkness buried. I…didn't agree with it at times…but when I looked at the bigger picture…that allowed me to see the full extent of what I had done as a Sith Lord, and allowed me to made amends and heal the damage I had done…and most of all…it allowed me to meet the woman I love, and the one I also saved from the Dark Side."

"You mean…this lady…Bastila?"

"Yes…we were full circle that day."

Revan smiled at the memory of saving Bastila from the Dark Side, that completed the circle, she saved him from death to redeem himself from the Dark Side, and he saved her from being lost in it forever, and showing how much he loved her. He put those memories aside for the moment and spoke seriously to Ranma.

"The reason I asked you those questions and told you about your own ability in the Force Ranma is that you have the potential to become a Jedi Knight. You will be trained by others like me and Jesse on how to use you're abilities in the Force. However it is a hard life, even if you succeed in passing the tests…and it will be very difficult, it takes dedication, commitment, and more to be a Jedi, even more to truly understand the Force. You will be tempted to use you're powers for more personal reasons, and while some are all right, others can lead you to abusing the Force and thus the path of the Dark Side. However, you will not be forced into this…you can choose to accept the offer of being trained as a Jedi and we will discuss it with you're parents, though it would be better it would be with you're mother only. Or you can choose to not take it and we will leave you be or we cut you off from the Force, we have a method of cutting you off from the Force with no lasting harm, and you will be fine, but you're connection to the Force will fade and eventually disappear. However…as I have said, the choice is entirely up to you Ranma, no one here will force you to take either path, it is a path you must chose for yourself."

Ranma thought over the decision that he had to make and wondered what that would mean for him. A part of him told him to take that chance…if the Force really existed in him, then why won't he learn how to use it, he could really learn a lot from Revan and Jesse, along with what he could learn from others like them. But he also didn't know what else he would have to give up…despite being with his father, he missed his mother horribly and he wondered if she would allow Jesse and Revan to train him, he could tell that the two men were very different from his dad and he couldn't help but feel safe under their protection.

"Can I…Can I have some time to think about it?"

Revan nodded. "Of course…take you're time. If you would like, I and the others would take you back to you're mother. I'm sure she misses you a lot and you no doubt miss her."

Ranma smiled at the thought of seeing his mother again. He then gave Revan the directions to where his mother lived. The senior Jedi then called his fellow Jedi and the droids…they had a mother to meet have her reunited with her son.

--------------

In a small modest house in the Fuchu district…

A tall and demure Japanese woman was busy cleaning her home and doing the chores, but she was living alone for the night and the many nights after. The woman's name was Nodoka Saotome and right now…she was very tired and somewhat sad as she looked at the afternoon sky… she was sad in the sense since she had not seen her young son Ranma in so long…ever since she had allowed Genma to take their only son away from her.

Even though she agreed, she had enough time to ponder her decision and was somewhat repentant on it, since not only did it leave her very lonely, but she also wished that she could have at least had a hand in raising her son alongside her husband, though she knew enough of her husband to be questioning some of Genma's training methods. The past four years of not being able to see her son's smiling face and hearing his laughter and even his whimpers tore at her heart at times, and whenever she heard knocking on the door of her home, she would always rush to it, hoping that beyond the door was her son and husband, alive and safe.

(Sometimes I wish I had never let Genma take Ranma…who knows what trouble he might be in. I may have wanted him to be a man among men…but I wanted to see him grow up myself.)

Even she had placed the pledge to make Ranma and Genma commit seppuku should Genma fail to live up to his promise to raise Ranma properly, she was not in the least bit, interested nor looking forward to the idea of making them commit ritual suicide, she may be a traditionalist, but she was a mother, and no mother would be so driven to take the life of her own child, but it was the best chance in her mind at the time to keep Genma from misbehaving…now she wondered if she made the right decision, having heard rumors of Genma's thievery and more, she hoped that something might happen to change that, she wanted a son who was honorable, not a son who was always running from the law.

She then placed her broom aside as she heard knocking on her door, she didn't have much hope in seeing Ranma and Genma on the door's other side, though she felt something as she closed the gap between her and the door.

"Coming!"

As soon as she opened the door, she faced two men in foreign clothes, resembling that of priests or monks, their hoods were down and their faces were seen, and on the belts that they had on, there were strange silver colored metal cylinders. One was a green eyed male with deep brown hair, and the other was a blonde male with deep blue eyes, both were obviously foreigners, and Nodoka didn't mind, she had some friends in her child-hood who were from other countries, and she spoke English as well, she had even traveled to other countries due to her family being rice, before she married Genma, and there was something calm and strong about them, calming her somewhat.

"Can I help you kind sirs?" Nodoka asked politely in English.

The brown haired one spoke first and with courtesy as well.

"We happen to be looking for the residence of one Nodoka Saotome, is this residence her current residence?"

"I am Nodoka Saotome, and yes, this is my residence. May I inquire you're names?"

The blonde spoke next and with some amusement.

"Before we introduce ourselves, may we inquire if you have a son by the name of Ranma Saotome?"

Nodoka wondered what this was about and hoped that the two were not people her husband had crossed, but there was a chance that they might have information on where her family was, she calmed herself and replied.

"Yes, I do have a son who's name is Ranma Saotome, but he is not here, he is with his father Genma on a journey, I haven't heard from them in a long time, why do you ask?"

The two men smiled and stepped aside and Nodoka saw that they had a third companion, a six year old boy who looked at her in a very familiar way and then began to shed tears of happiness. The confusion in her lasted only for a second as she quickly recognized the child before her.

(Kami…is it really…is it really Ranma?!)

Nodoka gasped and spoke to the child.

"Ranma…is that…is that you my son?!"

The boy nodded and before he could stop himself Ranma cried out in happiness and rushed into her arms.

"MAMA!!!!"

That was enough to make Nodoka cry as she hugged her only son…the son she had not seen in many years.

Revan and Jesse watched in appreciation and understanding at the reunion before them

--------------

Later…

Nodoka was serving some small snacks and tea to both her guests, Revan and Jesse thanked her for her hospitality and said that it was no trouble, however she was so thankful for the return of her son that she spared little time in making her guests comfortable, no small amount of effort would be enough to repay them for reuniting her with her precious child.

When she was absolutely sure that it was indeed her son, she wasted no time in holding him and fussing over him, like any mother would, much to the embarrassment of the young child in question, but he was so happy to be with her again that he overcame his discomfort. Revan and Jesse in the meantime were very respectful as they didn't interfere with the tearful reunion between mother and child, and as soon as Ranma was feeling tired, she guided him to his old room. Revan and Jesse then instructed T3 to keep an eye out on Ranma while he rested.

"Thank you….I don't think no amount of thanks is enough for bringing back my son…especially after all that I have learned about my…husband."

When Nodoka had asked on how Genma was doing, she was shocked, horrified, and rather angry at what Ranma had told her about the past six years, the mere thought of her son being forced to eat only rice, which led to his very malnourished state made her unhappy, the fact that he had to steal food, tools, clothing, and supplies at such a tender age in the guise of a game by Genma made her even more unhappy. It was the rest of the crimes Genma had committed and made Ranma an accomplice in that really got her in a very angry mood, despite that, she was the icon of control as she listened to what Ranma told her, it was only when he was asleep and the two Jedi told her about the Cat Fist and Genma subjecting the little boy to the flawed technique six times that REALLY got her angry, to the Jedi it was a wonder that she didn't become as mad as a rancor. The two hoped that she would not explode, but they were awed as she managed to rein in her anger and offer them food and drink as a way of thanks for bringing Ranma away from all that. Revan and Jesse couldn't help but compare her to some of the older Jedi Masters they knew back in their own Padawan days.

"It is all right Miss Saotome, we did what we knew was the right thing." Revan replied as he sipped his tea.

Jesse then took the lead and spoke to Nodoka.

"There is another reason why we also wish to speak to you."

"Oh?"

"Yes…we are…considering to ask you're permission to be able to train Ranma in the Ways of both Force, and the Jedi Order…you're son has very considerable potential in the Force, and we wish to train him in the proper use of the Force. And to prevent the Sith from taking advantage of his skills and potential."

Nodoka looked at them in concern. "Jedi? Force, Sith? I am very grateful to you both for bringing back my son to me, but until you tell me who you are, and what are the Jedi, this Force you mentioned my son has potential in, and the Sith?"

Revan spoke for Jesse. "It will be a very long story…"

Nodoka however shook her head. "I would like to know…you both are my guests and you both have done a great thing for me, so I am willing to listen to you're story, no matter how long it might be."

Both Jedi then began to tell her about the worlds they each came from and what the Galactic Republic was, and what was beyond Earth's own solar system, the worlds that were inhabited by other alien species, the cultures, and histories beyond, and then they told her about the Jedi order.

The history of the Jedi Order was ancient, and even the two Jedi didn't quite know all of the details in the past, and therefore, told her of only the more important details that could help her in making the proper decision if she wished them to take her son into training as a Jedi. They didn't spare any detail and told her all that they could, namely the good and bad things about both the Republic and the Jedi Order. It might have been a bit unorthodox to be sure, namely to telling the faults of the Jedi Order, but it had to be done since those same faults had nearly endangered both the Jedi Order and the Known Galaxy and while he and Jesse, and his friends were alive, Revan hoped that they would at least be able to change those things, it may not be enough in the long run, or in the Force, but at least it would be enough to prevent the True Sith from using the situations the Jedi were in to their advantage.

They then told her about the Sith and their history of the use of the Dark Side of the Force, and she was appalled at what she had learned about the many things the Sith had done over the years. The first Dark Jedi and then the Sith themselves had caused great harm to many worlds and sought only power, and while others had more…long term goals, the corruptive grip of the Dark Side on it's followers and also about the people who suffered by their hands. It surprised her to know that Revan himself had been a Sith, more to that, the supreme leader of the Sith in his time, but he had been able to redeem himself and forsake that path…so she was happy for that.

As they finished, Nodoka couldn't help but feel that this was a great burden to bear for her, she had finally been reunited with her son, but now, because of the Force that he was able to use…he had to leave her again, and even if she was thankful for Revan and Jesse for saving her son from the idiocy of Genma, it certainly wasn't easy for her to make such a decision.

Revan and Jesse however knew this and Revan spoke.

"It is not a decision you must make now Miss Saotome, it is a decision that takes time and consideration, as it is difficult to part with you're son. We are not here to deny you you're child again, and we understand both you're pain and you're concern for him. Thus, we will leave that decision to you alone, when you have come to a decision, then you may tell us in due time…we will be here for some time ourselves, since we have our own mission and goals while we are here on you're world."

Jesse nodded in agreement.

"You have our word that if you chose to allow us to train you're son in the ways of the Force, and of the Jedi if you wish it, we will make sure to keep you in contact with him when we can…and if you choose to say no, then we will help him sever his connection to the Force so he will not be in danger. Either choice is yours and yours alone."

Nodoka nodded in relief as she could tell that there was no lie or malice in Revan and Jesse's tone, they told her the truth. She had a lot to think about.

--------------

Later…

As she got ready for bed, Nodoka decided to take one last peek at her sleeping child. Revan and Jesse had left previously to stay in their own ship, despite her request to stay on as guests of her house, they prudently told her that doing so might attract unneeded attention to her and her family and that was something that she did not need right now…plus they needed to be on alert for their work, They did tell her however, that they would drop by from time to time to keep Ranma company.

She walked into the room, careful not to disturb her sleeping child and looked at Ranma's cute face as he slept peacefully, most children looked cute when they slept, but Ranma's face was more at peace…no doubt from being able to have a soft bed and a warm comfortable place to sleep in than back with his father. As she smiled at her son she decided to think back on her choices.

If she allowed him to be trained by Revan and Jesse as a Jedi Knight, then he would be able to learn just how to use the full power of the Force, and make him do incredible things, and she could tell that since Ranma was comfortable being around Revan and Jesse, he would be safer in their hands than others. Plus, she could tell that Revan and Jesse were true to their word to take good care of Ranma…and raise him to be a real man among men as she hoped him to be, if he grew up like Revan and Jesse, then that would be a very vast improvement over how he would have grown up had he stayed with Genma.

However, it still did not make things easier for her, despite the assurances she had. She was going to have to live with the fact that she would not be able to see her son again, and there was no telling how he would fare in the rest of the galaxy, and the idea of him being among alien races made her very uneasy (no doubt due to the fact, that despite her upbringing, Nodoka was familiar with alien films that showed aliens as dangerous creatures to Earth), despite Revan and Jesse's assurances that they would keep him from getting in over his head with any of the races he might meet there. There was also the fact that if he trained as a Jedi, he would have to face off with the Sith and their allies, and the stories of the Sith, their cruelty, greed, destructive actions, and outright darkness made her cringe at the thought of her son being forced to fight with such evil beings, and whatever allies they would have. The fact that they might either try to take Ranma from her and turn him into one their followers, or kill him made Nodoka very afraid for her son. She did not want to lose him in either way to such dangerous and evil beings.

If she chose to not allow Revan and Jesse to train Ranma, they would sever his connection to the Force and allow him to live a normal life with her, and she would not be forced to be separated from her son. They could live together and she could finally be allowed to raise him properly, and even undo the damage Genma had done to the child. This seemed more agreeable to her.

However she also realized that if the Force was part of Ranma at his birth…then severing his connection to it was like cutting off a part of her son's own soul. After some time, Jesse had told her about how he fared when in Malachor 5, namely after the Mass Shadow Generator had been used…and he had to sever his own connection to the Force to survive the pain. She was saddened by the intense and nearly unbearable pain Jesse had endured as he severed his connection to the Force…and he told her that he felt like he had died, and even if he survived the battle…the cost of his severing the ties he had to the Force were too painful to bear, thus he went into exile, and felt like all of his senses were brutally stolen from him…in the most violent and painful way possible…even if he had finally recovered his ties to the Force, the wound he had would remain forever in him. Revan told her of a way that didn't have such an effect that he learned from an old friend that could peacefully and painlessly sever her son's connection to the Force, and while that was a good thing, she didn't want Ranma to be forever feeling that a part of him was always missing, such a feeling would last far longer than any physical wound Ranma would endure…for it was wound to the soul.

And if he stayed, there was a chance that Genma would return and if he found Ranma, there would be no doubt in her mind that he would try and force Ranma to be with him, and Kami only knew what would be the outcome of her son once more being under the influence of his father, Genma was now a thief and used his son like a meal ticket every chance he got, using her son as a way to feed his own stomach, and the reports of Genma getting Ranma involved with various families in marriage to feed his own belly made her shiver at how much stress and difficulty Ranma would be in if he was with her husband…such a life would make her son suffer a full mental breakdown, and it happening to him at such a young age would be irreversible and everlasting…she wanted her son to be a true man among men, but she wanted him to have a happy and calm life as well, and such a life with Genma would be too dangerous to her son's mental health. The thought of her son going mad was too frightening for her to consider.

All those decisions and possible outcomes made Nodoka sob a bit as she looked at her precious child. Ranma must have heard it and then mumbled in his sleep.

"I…want to…make mom, proud of me."

Nodoka smiled a bit at her child and realized that such things and decisions could wait for tomorrow and decided to leave her son to his rest.

As she reached her room and lay on her futon, she decided to think more and weigh her options, for this time she, not Genma, held the future of her son, and what path she deemed as important for her son to pursue.

--------------

Author's Notes:

Sorry for the long delay, I was focused on GunDread SEED: The Second Stage for quite a while now, and it's only now I updated this story, hope this will be enough for now.

On the subject of Ranma's curse, this will not entirely follow the original story for a very obvious reason, Ranma will not be around in Earth for the remainder of his years until he finishes his training as a Jedi, thus don't expect the girl curse to be his…rather the Force itself will play the role of both gift and curse to Ranma.

This is a bit more mature than most would expect from Ranma since the Force has far more dangerous consequences than just a gender bending curse. As Mical 'The Disciple' in the Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords once said…

'Sometimes…a single Force User can change the face of the Universe.'

To hit the truth home, Ranma in this fic has the potential to do just that…whether for the Light or Dark. That to me is far more effective a curse than any gender bending one…and give Ranma a greater challenge than most would expect. And lastly…this would make the life he would live on Earth once he lands in Nerima a lot more interesting, namely for the other Nerima characters!

--------------

KOTOR Terms:

**Blue Milk** – This is the milk gained from a female bantha, which is native to several planets and is famously recognized to be seen in Tatooine, this is taken in it's natural state or can be made into yogurt, ice cream, cream, butter, and sauce. It is nutrient rich and is used by Tatooine settlers to make due with the low water in their diets. It is also rumored to have medicinal properties.

**Kolto **– Seen only in Manaan, home of the aquatic Selkath, kolto is the predecessor of bacta. This liquid healing agent is processed from the plants that bear the same name and are only found in the deep sea chasms in Manaan. Protected by the Progenitor, a powerful creature that is known to be a massive firaxa shark female, this served as the principle component to medical kits in the universe.

**Air cake **– This is a light dessert item found in the planet of Corellia.

**Nerf meat **– This is meat from a nerf, a mammal herbivore found on several planets such as Alderaan, and the Wookiee home-planet of Kashyyk , they are popular for their meat, soft hides, and milk. However they are known to scuffy looking and slurry, along with their caretakers, known as nerfherders. The insult 'scuffy-looking nerfherder' is born from that description. There are various subspecies and they too are considered popular.

**Dew Cake **– It is a delicious type bread made on the planet Wroona.

**Bristlemelon **– It is an edible fruit grown by the moisture farmers on Tatooine, considered a good meal, it still requires the sharp spines on the outside to be burned off before the fruit is eaten.

**Grain Bar **- a snack bar made from various edible grains.

**Droidspeak **– Also known as Binary language, all known astromech/utility droids such as T3 could speak and understand it, though some organic life-forms can easily understand Droidspeak, though they themselves could not speak it. Comprising of electronic beeps, whistles, whines, and bloops, many not familiar with Droidspeak could only make out gibberish. Known beings who understand Droidspeak in the old days of the Old Republic were Revan himself, (Jedi Exile) Jesse Harvern, Atton Rand, and Bao-Dur.

Now we speak of the lightsaber styles mentioned:

**Ataru –** Known as Form 4 of the classical lightsaber styles, Ataru was named in honor of the agile and aggressive Hawk Bat of Coruscant. It is a style of power, speed, and agility. Since it was predominantly an offensive style, all known users of Ataru were always attacking, using powerful wide, and fast swings to take out their foe, coupled with Force assisted acrobatics. Since the Force allowed them to surpass basic physical limitations, users of the style could unleash high speed blows of great power, jumping and attacking in the air. Powerful and quick spinning attacks could be easily unleashed by a Form 4 user at all angles either on the ground or in the air. This made Ataru masters move like a blur to the eyes of their foes, attacking overhead, at the sides and at the back. The Force not only assisted in acrobatic moves, but acted as a guide for the user's actions and movements.

Despite this, Ataru is not perfect, it is weaker when facing multiple foes, and was weaker in situations where blasters were used in fire-fights, another weakness was it's need for open spaces to utilize acrobatics, if in an enclosed area, an Ataru user would not be able to use the acrobatics that are integral to Ataru's offensive and defensive power.

**Soresu** – Known as Form 3 of the classical lightsaber styles, Soresu was used to follow the defensive strength and resistance of the mynock. This style was used to counter the spread of long range blaster weapons in the galaxy. Jedi used this style when Makashi, another lightsaber style proved to be inadequate to deflect blaster fire. Soresu allowed it's users to block blaster fire at precise and accurate angles, through the use of short sweeping motions of the lightsaber over the body zones closely, thus making this the most defensive of all the forms of lightsaber combat. Users of this and masters are nearly invincible due to their defensive skills, allowing them to patiently move through the battle with little injury and striking at foes when they were exhausted and lowered their guard or made a desperate strike…the philosophy of the style is being in the eye of the storm, essentially meaning the user must maintain undisrupted concentration and not thinking about the chaos around them so as to adapt their defensive moves to the changes without becoming caught in the fighting, this also allowed users to observe the enemy and see them for weak-points and areas of attack in their bodies, this allows users to decided to either reason, disarm, or even if really needed, kill their foes. Masters of this style could always gain insight in the fight and survive battles where quick victory is not attainable.

Soresu is not without weakness, users must have absolute focus on defense and even a momentary lapse can spell doom for the users of Soresu, leading to either considerable injury, or death. Another noted weakness is the fact that despite being able to counter attacks from opponents well, Soresu users didn't have the training to entrap their foes in their own attacks. The guards and parries also that are part of the style's arsenals have to be also close to the body, and as such, a break in the circle of defense left little time to counter injury. Another flaw is the style guaranteed only survival, not quick victory, and at certain situations a quick resolution is more favored than a lengthily fight.

**Makashi ****– **Known as Form 2 of the classical lightsaber styles. Makashi was named after the Ysalamiri, a creature of great tenacity. This style was the epitome of elegant lightsaber dueling following the advent of Form 1. This style is known to be precise, elegant, and powerful, giving the user the ability to attack and defend oneself with little effort, while the opponent tires out, most users of Makashi have used curved hilt lightsabers for better use of the style and rely on only one hand to deliver the blows of Makashi. The arsenal of moves associated with Makashi were parries, thrusts, feints, and precise cuts, opposing the other forms that relied on slashing and blocking, and Makashi prevented From 1's secondary purpose, and that was the destruction of one's lightsaber by another. Fluid motion and anticipation of weapon strikes being launched were present in Makashi, Proper footwork, angles of attack, and leverage were part of the style as well, to ensure proper attack and defensive distance with a foe was possible. Timing, accuracy, and skill were needed in Makashi, thus in the hands of the master, this style was certainly potent. Apart from timing, elegance, finesse, enchantment, economy, and artfulness that were part of Makashi, users of the style were known to not rely too much on it to avoid enslavement, making them vulnerable to unpredictability, they were also confident to the point of arrogance, precise, calm, sure of victory, so much so that they were know to appear as dancers in a play than fighters in the duel.

However, Makashi had a pair of fatal flaws, the first was it's emphasis on precision, grace, and speed, those qualities left it short on raw power and force, leaving it easily beaten by counter-attacks used by skilled and experienced practitioners of Form 5. The second was it's inability to defend the user effectively against many foes and blaster fire.

**Shien**** – **Known as a variant of Form 5 of the classical lightsaber styles, this style was named after the powerful and massive Krayt Dragon of the planet Tatooine. The style of Form 5 was made by Jedi who needed a quick resolution while combining it with the defensive abilities of Form 3. This style combined the defensive moves of Soresu and the aggressive sword play, tactics and philosophy of Form 2. Apart from being accepted by Jedi despite it's overtly dominating nature, it also relied on Force enhanced strength, along with physical strength to dominate it's foes. There were two variants of Form 5, the first being Shien and the second being Djem So.

Shien was used to counter blaster fire, just like Soresu, however, it was created to not just block blaster bolts, but to send them right back to the shooter in question giving it a ranged element not normally found in the other lightsaber styles, plus the presence of Soresu moves and techniques meant that despite it's use on counter attack, and blaster deflection, Shien did not compromise the Jedi's need to be defensive on attacks from various foes. Shien also allowed Jedi to fight many foes at once and defeat them even with the presence of blasters.

Djem So was the second variant of Form 5, however, unlike the first variant, Djem So was designed for pure lightsaber or melee battles. The style of Soresu is present, but unlike users of Soresu who could survive longer than other users, but could not quickly dispatch skilled foes, users of Djem So could catch opponents in their own offense and retaliate with their own strikes after being on the defensive using blocks and parries, then responding in kind after the opponents attack with powerful strikes that bring the power of their foe's own blows against them. Thus this style placed great emphasis on physical strength and power, using wide powerful strikes and parries, followed by fierce counter attacks. Users with enough strength and power, both in the body and the Force could shatter defenses with sheer kinetic force, knocking back foes, or pushing them back and leaving them vulnerable to counter attack.

Both variants however had weak-points, in the case of Shien, it was designed to handle both blasters and multiple foes, but never single foes, and Djem So lacked mobility, since it relied on being in one direction, facing their foe. Training and experience however, allowed users the chance to offset these known weak-points to make the styles even more powerful and effective.

--------------

What will be Nodoka's decision?

Find out on Chapter 2 – Journey!


	3. Journey

Ranma/Knights of the Old Republic

Disclaimer: I don't own anything of LucasArts or that of Rumiko Takashi, namely the LucasArts Games Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2, and the Ranma series

( ): Thoughts

Chapter 2

Journey

(( Italic)): T3's translated language

--------------

In the Saotome Residence…

Nodoka drank her tea as she watched her son playing with a few toys that Revan and Jesse had brought, while the two Jedi were busy on other matters, the two Jedi would sometimes drop by her home to greet Ranma and help out in the house-hold chores, much to her embarrassment, they however made very simple and infrequent visits, so as to avoid arousing suspicion for Nodoka and her son.

She looked at Ranma's joyful face as he got to play with a few blocks in the living room and sighed as she recalled a few times she had finally seen the manifestation of the Force that the two Jedi had told her about, which her son possessed.

--------------

Flashback…

"Ranma…can you hand me that bag of groceries?"

Nodoka had managed to get enough money to buy some new food items for the house and also to feed her son, who's appetite was still the same voracious one as her husband's. As she had been busy placing away some of the groceries and supplies she had managed to buy, she had left behind the bag with her son, who greeted her exuberantly.

"Sure mother, but this is rather heavy, maybe I should lessen some of the things in here."

Nodoka poked her head out of the door and to her astonishment, she spotted Ranma….levitating the container of eggs right out of the bag without even touching them, though he looked somewhat strained as he did so…as if he was trying to move the eggs with only the power of will.

"What are you doing?!"

The sound of her voice scared Ranma a bit and forced him to drop his concentration, thankfully the eggs were already on the small table, a few good inches from it, thus they didn't break.

Ranma looked shocked and then spoke.

"I…I…I couldn't help it….I wanted if I could do the same thing like Revan did with that sword."

--------------

End of Flashback…

Needless to say, seeing her son levitating eggs in mid-air was rather difficult to absorb, and when she told Revan and Jesse about the event, both of them assured her that it was not dangerous, but only some of the basics of the Force, and the powers it had. They however made sure to remind Ranma not to do that sort of thing always, since doing it in the house might be a bit tolerable, but he should refuse the idea of trying to use the telekinetic powers of the Force outside of the house, Ranma promised and made sure not to do that often, so as not to frighten or surprise her.

Nevertheless, there were some good plusses in her mind for his attempts as it allowed him to be a bit more helpful in the house, even more so when he developed the ability to use passive precognition, this trait had helped her when she took him to a nearby market and he spotted a man who was about to try and rob the market. He told her about him and that he was carrying a weapon, that allowed the police to arrest the man before he could have caused trouble. This also helped her in making repair decisions for their house when routine repairmen came to fix the house by determining the places that needed the most attention.

Revan and Jesse spoke about that and told her that it was yet another sign of the Force manifesting in her son. This gift was another basic, or universal power of the Force itself, and having it show itself early in his young life told them and her that Ranma did have a strong connection to the Force.

Those events shaped Nodoka's life for the past few days as she got used to the presence of not just the Jedi Knights in her home, but of her son's gifts with the Force, and the amazing things he was now able to do. She always suspected that her son would have a great future, but being told that he was gifted with a power such as the Force was the least she expected at all. The Jedi Knights also were quite the change.

She had gotten to know the two Jedi Knights and felt that they were truly brave and honorable, very much the kind of man, or rather the men she wanted her son to grow up to be. She felt sad by the fact that the two of them had to leave the people they cared for and befriended to protect them from the Sith. She could only imagine the heart ache Revan felt when he had to leave his beloved wife Bastila, and also Jesse's own heart ache for leaving behind his beloved Brianna as well. They did it to ensure that there would be a future for not just themselves, their beloved, and their friends, but for those who would be born in the Republic and beyond. These men were strong of both body and mind…far better than any man she knew of…including Genma, they willingly endured any hardship, and any pain, any battle to protect the most precious people to them.

The tales of their seven year mission in the Galaxy, their battles, and their trails made Nodoka think more and more on the decision that would lie before her soon, whether to allow Ranma to harness and utilize his gifts in the Force under the tutelage of the two men and their fellow Jedi comrades. She could see in the eyes of Revan and the way he acted, spoke, and move that he had the qualities of a leader, teacher, friend, and warrior…and while Jesse had those same traits, he too shined in the sense that he connected to those he met and showed great compassion and strength, despite his own sufferings. These men were truly two of a kind, and even if they too admitted to their own human faults, she didn't mind that.

"Mom…is break-fast already done?"

Nodoka shook herself mentally for a few seconds and smiled as her son rushed up to her.

"It is Ranma…let's eat."

--------------

Later…

As Ranma gobbled up his meal heartily, his mother began to think about her decision as she finished her own meal dutifully, she drank her cool water and looked at her son as he continued to eat. Nodoka had made sure that she took her role as a teacher to Ranma in the gentler ways of life and society very seriously.

She was appalled by Ranma's lack of development in social skills, even more so when she noted his total lack of delicacy in matters with women, along with his belief that women were not as strong as men. Revan and Jesse told her about Genma placing such thoughts into her son's head and warned her that in the other reaches of the Galaxy and even here on Earth, there were women who were far stronger than most men, and if he didn't learn proper etiquette and manners while he was young, he was seriously going to get in way over his head…not to mention get in even more trouble than he should be in.

She also noted the tell tale signs of Genma's so called games influencing her son, and she didn't want her son to start thinking that stealing, lying, and cheating were going to the only avenues of success in this world, and she was going to make sure he got a proper education. That was why she began to buy as many books as she could and got Ranma to read them.

She saw that Ranma had a hard time in reading, another flaw that she knew would have Genma's influence written all over him…she realized that since Genma had only dedicated Ranma to martial arts, his academic skills had dropped and he would need them in the near future…she might not show it, but Nodoka had an interest in the field of modern medicine, and had postponed her studies when she was married, and now, with things as they are, she had to make sure to use her money supplies wisely in order to finish her education. However, there were some problems…and Genma was the instigator.

There had been some people who came to her home and inquired when would Genma finally pay the debts he owed them, for food, clothing, stolen items of various types, and also the numerous things Genma swore on his so-called code of honor.

It made Nodoka sick to her stomach to think of just how many other people Genma must have broken his word to all over Japan when he still had Ranma under his wing. This time…she would set things right once she made the right decisions for her son, and her family. She only hoped that her remaining savings would be enough to keep her family afloat and keep them fed.

"Mom…are you all right?" Ranma asked as he put down his rice bowl…his face looking very concerned for his mother who looked so withdrawn.

"Oh…I am fine Ran-chan, don't worry, by the way, how far are you in the books on Japanese dictionary?"

Ranma looked thoughtfully at the empty bowl and smiled.

"I am on page 25!"

"That's my boy! Come…once we clean up these dishes, we can catch up with Japanese literature."

Though Ranma still didn't quite understand why he should be reading books instead of training in martial arts, he did find them rather nice and he was happy to see that it made his mom happy, plus she did say that she could learn quite a lot as well.

--------------

Later…

As Ranma read the books she gave him, Nodoka helped him along with things that he might not understand, hoping that with the time they had together, he would grow up to be a far better man than Genma would be. As Ranma began to learn the works of some prominent artists and he looked in surprise at the paintings and read the stories, his mother looked at him with a proud eye, and when she recalled his talents in the Force…she began to see that she would soon make a very important decision soon.

She then decided that after a few days…she would contact Revan and Jesse, once she had a very important chat with her son….about his gifts and connections in the Force. Revan and Jesse said that if she decided and Ranma agreed with her, then all she had to do was call them with a small communicator that they provided her. Once she gave her decision, they promised her that not only would they give her time to spend with her son, but to also make sure to send her messages on how her son was doing.

This might not be enough for her, but it would be enough to know that her son would be safe.

--------------

In the Ebon Hawk…

"Have to admit, this place is rather nice." Revan replied as he and the others were busy as they ran over the images of the countries that existed in Earth, along with the cultures and languages that existed in them. The Jedi were very busy these matters as they needed to find out anything that could be of help to them in their search for the Sith on this planet, but it seemed that there was no sign of the Sith in the areas they had visited.

"True…but we still have a lot left to do…HK, what's the status of you're translation updates?"

Revan had ordered HK-47 to update his vocabulator data-base with the languages of the world of Earth so as to make a record of all the languages in this multicultural world. Unlike the planets that had two or three different cultures, this primarily human world had multiple ones and it would be a real problem to try using only one tongue.

In order to learn even more secrets, the Jedi decided to record all the important details and keep that as a reference base in case things get very interesting.

"Answer: I am almost finished with all the updates Master…though I still find it hard to believe we need all this data."

"We need all the data we can get if we want to find any trace of the Sith, and even if we don't find any, it won't hurt to at least know what we can…you saw the data we gathered on this planet's natural and environmental resources, I have no doubt that the Sith might soon turn their eyes on this sector of space soon."

The assassin droid understood his creator's reasoning, despite the lack of any worthy technology, the planet Earth had plenty of viable resources, those that were still untapped by the current meat bag inhabitants, and the Sith would drain this entire planet dry of those said resources to fuel their soon to come war with the Republic and the Jedi, not to mention they would use the people of this world as slave labor and who knows what else…not to mention the fact that if there were more Force Sensitive meat bags on this world like that child meat bag…then the Sith would have found a very good recruiting pool.

Jesse then turned to find T3 minding the communication console, the little droid was busy running through the communicator frequencies and monitored the international communications networks all over the planet, however, he did keep in mind for one communicator frequency in general.

"Any word yet from Miss Saotome T3?"

The little robot gave a series of low and sad tones, telling the Jedi General that there was no message as of yet from the parent of Ranma. T3 was beginning to like the young and active little child, though it was a little difficult when the child would try and look into his core systems, but thankfully, the little child was not that skilled in mechanics to do any lasting damage that Jesse couldn't fix.

"Ah well…keep things running T3, we'll be ready to leave in an hour or so."

The Ebon Hawk was currently in a jungle in the continent that they learned was South America, according to the global Atlas they had downloaded, the place was not so bad, besides, the place reminded Revan a bit of his time on the Wookiee home planet of Kashyyyk, though the trees in the Amazon Rainforest were like little sticks compared to the massive kilometer high wroshyr trees he had seen on the home-planet of his old friend Zaalbar. They had found a good landing zone and thankfully didn't any unneeded attention anyone in the area.

The Jedi began to learn the languages in the area, and even learned the language of some tribes in the area so as to further their work, of course, considering the damp environment and the inherent dangers in the jungle, the Jedi ordered the droids to remain with the ship, with HK on guard duty, while T3 monitored the outside area and kept abreast on communications.

In a way, considering some actions of several hostile creatures, HK finally got to let out his blood thirsty tendencies and programming. Several large predator cats were already turned into bloody carcasses by the droid's use of a Mandalorian Heavy Repeater, making Jesse wish he knew just what it was that possessed Revan to build the droid in the first place, but he couldn't do anything about it right now but make the proper actions to bury the dead animals.

As soon as they were done, they decided to leave, the very second HK-47 was done with his downloading and updating.

Several tribal hunters turned and spotted the Ebon Hawk take off, they were stunned out of their wits and thought they were watching some sort of mythical creature from their lore rise from the land and take off. Later, they made their way to where the strange thing lifted off, and seeing the carcasses, thought that the Gods must have been very busy, and resolved to talk to their village elders about it.

--------------

A few days later…

As Nodoka and Ranma were busy walking in the nearby park, Nodoka thought back on her plans and decided that now would be a very good time to finally speak to her son about his Force Sensitivity, as this seemed like a good time and there were not that many people in the park.

As Ranma played with a small toy, Nodoka began to form out a plan to speak to her son about her decision regarding Revan and Jesse's request to have him trained as a Jedi Knight. She made sure to speak to Revan and Jesse and tell them to come to the park after she had an hour alone with her son to discuss the matter at hand.

As she finalized her plans, she decided that it was time to finally speak to Ranma about her decision regarding his chance to be trained as a Jedi in the use of the Force.

"Ranma, can I speak to you about something important?"

"Sure!"

As Ranma walked over to his mother, Nodoka decided to ask him about how he felt with the Force which was part of him, as soon as she knew just what her son thought about his talents in the Force, the better she could make her decision.

"Ranma…how do you feel when you use the Force for anything?"

Ranma thought about that, he began to recall the few times he had tried to use the Force…moving objects with the Force, levitating things, and sometimes feeling emotions, hearing thoughts, and seeing things that were to come were sometime difficult to deal with, but seeing that they could also help people made Ranma realize how important the Force was too. He also knew that since it was part of him, he had to live with it, but it was hard, and there were times he was a bit frightened by it, and he wanted to learn just how to use it properly.

"It's hard sometimes…it feels like I can see, hear, touch, and feel things that I…can't even begin to imagine. It's a bit scary at times, but I can do things that I…never thought possible, and I can learn so much from it. I might a bit frightened by it, mom…but I don't want to part with it….it's part of who I am. I want to learn how to really use it, and how to master it, but I know that Revan and Jesse…would only teach me if I want to be a Jedi, and if you would let me. Why?"

Nodoka smiled a bit and replied.

"Because Revan and Jesse told me that they wanted to ask my permission to allow you to be trained in the Force, by them as a Jedi. But I wanted to know how you felt with the Force, and now that I know…I have decided."

"What did you decide?"

"I decided…that I want you to be trained as a Jedi, you're connections to the Force are part of you, and you have to learn how to use them correctly…and if learning to do so with Revan and Jesse is the best way…then I give my blessing."

Ranma was immediately stunned and overjoyed as he understood that it meant that he could join the Jedi Order and be able to learn about the Force from Revan and Jesse. He could finally understand the power that he had deep inside of him for such a long time. However, his joy didn't last long as he realized that it meant the like before…he would have to leave and not see his mother again, his family. He could handle the idea of not seeing his father again, because of all the foolish and stupid things the fat and lazy man did…but he couldn't bare the thought of once more being denied the chance to be with his mother again.

"But that means I…"

Nodoka nodded sadly.

"You will have to leave me again, and this time, you will be going to another galaxy…far, far away from here."

"You could come with us! I mean…there's plenty of room in the Ebon Hawk for you to join us mom! We…we could see all the planets together! You could meet other people and see so many wonderful things…with me, please come with me!"

Nodoka shook her head.

"I have to remain here…I have to make sure no one knows the truth about you're talents, and I have no doubt that it will make sure that you're…father will not try and find out about you as long as he knows I am here. Besides, I have to make sure that even if it takes me a long time…I have to redeem the name of Saotome for all the mistakes you're father made. I have no doubt it will be hard for me…but all that will be worth it to know that you grew up to be a man among men. I don't want you to be burdened with so many things while being so young, and you have a great gift with the Force, you know that, and I want you to be safe…and that is why it is better to me that you are trained on how to fully use you're talents with the Force."

Ranma's face was now nearing tears as he tried to fight them back, after all, men did not cry!

Nodoka however sensed the inner turmoil in her son and reached out to him and gave him a strong, gentle, motherly hug…and it was enough to make Ranma cry out as he hugged her back fiercely.

"No! I don't want to leave you! Not again! I….I…I don't want to leave you…"

Nodoka also felt tears in her eyes, as she had just decided to let her son be taken from her once more, and this time, he would be leaving the very planet.

"I know…but I want what's best for you Ran-chan…you have a great gift, and you have to learn how to use it well. I have a feeling that you will be fine, and so will I. I will be here waiting for you."

"P…P…Promise?"

Nodoka looked her at her son and with a smile, wiped away some of his tears gently and then kissed Ranma on the forehead.

"I promise."

Ranma then managed to stop his sobbing and looked with determination and fire in his eyes.

"Then I will train to be a Jedi…I will train long and hard to use the Force…I will be a son you can be proud of mother! I promise on the name of Saotome, I will be a Jedi Knight!"

Nodoka smiled and hugged her son, and then the two saw the arrival of two men, dressed in normal clothes for outings such as these, but they recognized the two of them very quickly.

Revan and Jesse…and both of them had understanding looks on their faces. The Jedi had heard everything that had happened between the mother and child and saw just how torn up Ranma was at the thought of once more leaving behind his mother after only been reunited with her for a few weeks. This made them understand once more how their parents must have felt when they were given up to the Jedi Order for training themselves…But Ranma was older than they were at the time…so it was far harder for him to part with his mother.

The two Jedi decided to speak to both mother and son, so they could plan out the time that will be spent in training Ranma while he would be allowed to speak to his mother and make sure that at the very least, he would be able to speak to her when he could have the time. Besides that, they would give Ranma the time needed to learn more from his home planet before they would take him with them for Jedi training.

--------------

A few weeks later…

Nodoka smiled slightly as she helped her son pack away a good amount of clothes, supplies, food, books, and reading material into a few bags for her son. The past few weeks had been a bit hard for her since she would once be parting from her son, but this time she could do it with a lighter heart, and she knew that this time, though her son would be leaving with complete strangers from another galaxy no less, she knew she could trust them. Revan and Jesse had allowed her enough time to teach Ranma herself in what she deemed needed for him in the Republic.

This allowed Nodoka to teach her son the art of Battou-jutsu, namely the school of Eshin-ryu, which she practiced in her youth before putting the sword aside and pursuing her dream to study and learn modern medicine, along with marrying Genma. She was considered a promising pupil by her sensei and she decided to pass on the training to her son, along with several manuals on the sword's fighting styles.

Ranma at first disliked the idea of using weapons, having grown up with Genma telling him that weapons were for weaklings, however, Revan and Jesse told him that every Jedi had to learn how to fight with weapons such as swords, before they could ever use a light-saber, which takes even more years to master. Revan and Jesse even showed him the basic moves of the sword styles that they had to learn and the styles they learned were impressive, making Ranma and Nodoka realize the level of personal training needed to become a Jedi…so Ranma decided to learn the ways of the sword, and quickly grasped the methods and patterns well, once again showing his growing connection to the Force, revealing yet another gift that Jesse knew quickly, it was known as Force Comprehension. This was a strong sign that Ranma did possess a stronger connection than most.

As she and Ranma finished the packing, her son turned to her and looked a bit sad.

"I really wish you were with me Mom."

"I promised you that I will be here for you when you come back, and I will keep that promise my son."

The two hugged once more as the bags were now ready to be taken to the Ebon Hawk that waited a good distance from Fuchu, but close enough for Ranma to reach without being seen easily, they all decided to travel at early night so as to avoid attracting too much attention, since the idea of anyone seeing the Ebon Hawk during take out was a seriously bad idea.

"Irritated Comment: If the two of you meat bags are quite done with such actions we must leave soon, the Masters will be leaving this planet and I am getting rather impatient."

Both mother and son turned and gave HK-47 a bit of a glare that didn't bother the assassin droid all that much at all. But HK-47 was bored out of it's processor, apart from the native wild-life he had been able to dispatch, he had been unable to find any Sith meat bags to kill…out of all the planets he had gone to, the droid labeled this one to be the least enjoyable.

"You will wait a bit longer, I will be accompanying my son to the Ebon Hawk as well."

Nodoka said in determination, staring down the assassin droid, despite the fact that being in front of the psychotic robot was a bad idea since he was currently armed with a Combat Enforcer rifle. However, she was not in the mood to have these last few moments with her son be disrupted by anyone or anything, not even a homicidal assassin droid.

"Weary Statement: Very well, we must be leaving soon."

The group were accompanied by HK-47 and they managed to evade any inconvenience as they hurried to the ship, the two worried that having the assassin droid accompany them to the Ebon Hawk was a bad idea, however, Revan had installed a personal stealth field generator into HK-47 previously…just in case blasting his way into a facility was considered very risky, and too distracting. The stealth system activated and the droid was now no longer in sight of the two, with the exception of him briefly de-cloaking himself to lead them to the Ebon Hawk.

As soon as they arrived to the Ebon Hawk, which was good distance away from the district so as to avoid too much attention, Nodoka was given a brief tour of the Ebon Hawk by both Jedi, and she was impressed by the designs of the ship, though how they had managed to travel with such a damaged vessel was difficult to imagine, and she learned it was only through the efforts of Jesse, T3, and Revan that they were able to keep the ship intact and functional.

The Jedi explained that since they were limited in funding, they at times been forced to steal supplies and parts, but from Sith held depots and those allowed them to keep the Ebon Hawk intact. However, Revan did admit that while there would be better ships than the Ebon Hawk in a way, the ship held very important significance to both him and Jesse, not to mention the ship had served them well respectively when they each owned her.

As they got the supplies and materials Ranma had with him, Revan handed a small but very valuable communicator to Nodoka.

"This is a very valuable device, it's called a holo-communications unit. This will help you get in contact with us whenever you need to know just how Ranma is doing while he is training as a Jedi with us. I have taken the liberty of having T3 assemble a working transmitter for you to have in you're home when I was there a few days before, if you were to recall."

Nodoka nodded as she recalled the small personal computer-like device the utility/astromech droid had placed on her home, and Revan had helped install a transmitter array in her attic. The device however was small and had a working self sustaining power supply with it.

"All you have to do is connect it to transmitter console's connection socket and wait, we will receive the signal and we can then speak to you."

"From Republic space?"

Nodoka asked with surprise….the Republic was VERY far from Earth, yet with this, she could reach Revan and Jesse there and speak to them and her son? The Republic must have very impressive technology to have such devices.

"Pretty much, though the signal will be faint at first, we'll be able to retrieve it and it will only register on a similar device that has my personal communicator code so there's a less likely chance someone will be able to intercept it. It's not perfect…but it will get the job done."

Nodoka held the device and prayed to the Gods that at least, this device would help her keep track on how her son was doing and help her make sure that he would still be around right now to make her feel better.

Ranma then walked up to her and the two hugged each other one more time and after wiping the tears from her son's eyes, Nodoka climbed down the Ebon Hawk's loading ramp and saw her son's face one last time as the ramp lifted up and closed.

The only thing Nodoka could do was look up at the Ebon Hawk as the ship lifted off and then with a strong roar of engines, the ship took off and she saw the ship fly out into the night sky. As the ship gained speed and soon disappeared from view…Nodoka held the communicator unit close and made her way back to her home.

She had a heavy heart, but that was lifted by the fact that her son was with men she knew she could trust with his future and safety. Now all she had to do while her son was away training to be a Jedi Knight was to deal with the fallout of Genma's numerous crimes.

--------------

In the Ebon Hawk…

"Take a good look Ranma…I don't think you've ever seen space before."

Jesse said to their passenger as he was in the cockpit with him and Revan. The ship's scanners told them that they were soon to leave the gravity well of Earth and would soon be clear to initiate their hyper-drive system. However, the Jedi decided to give the computer enough time to plot out the best hyperspace coordinates to take them back to the Republic…while avoiding planets that were inhabited by Sith forces…not to mention any dangerous space based anomalies. The last thing the Jedi Knights wanted was to either land into the area of an orbital Sith defense garrison….or the dangers in space.

And in space, the dangers were plenty, therefore it was a bad idea for them to type in the wrong hyperspace coordinates, or else they would be in an asteroid field, a solar storm, a black hole, and worse.

Ranma looked at the stars before him and then to the sun…which he saw on the other side of the world for the first time, and suffice to say, the young boy was stunned at the sight of deep space. Despite his times focusing on martial arts, a part of Ranma wondered what was there beyond the stars…and now for the very first time…he was looking at it.

"Wow…this is amazing…"

Revan nodded with a smile at Ranma's awe at the sight of space. He was no stranger to space travel, but he knew that Ranma, was the first child of his country to set foot in space…and now it was time to let him see just what was it like to by in hyperspace.

"How much further until we're free from Earth gravitational field?"

T3 then replied via communication systems on the Ebon Hawk.

(( "_We'll be free in exactly six seconds…we're now in the clear._"))

"Has the nav-computer finished it's calculations and the charts are now downloaded?"

Jesse asked the little droid as HK-47 worked on self recharging mode.

(("_Yes, we will have to take a much longer route back to Republic space, so it will take us at least one and a half standard month to make into the borders of the Known Galaxy._"))

"Good…okay then, time to activate the hyperdrive."

Ranma looked at the two Jedi and wondered just what was it they were talking about to the two droids, the only time it made sense to him, partially at least, was the mention of the nav-computer and the hyperdrive, plus the gravity of the of Earth. But he still was very curious as to what his new teachers were talking about.

"What's a hyperdrive?"

Revan smirked a bit and replied.

"We'll be teaching you about that once the time is right…but for now, we're going to make our hyperspace jump…now."

Revan then activated the hyperdrive as it showed a green light for all systems and it a moment, before the cockpit and the eyes of both the Jedi, and the awe struck child, the stars seemed to suddenly streak backward and then with a slight hum, the stars streaked past the ship in a wave of fast moving lines…the Ebon Hawk was now in hyperspace.

"What just happened?!" Ranma asked, as he was stunned by what he had just witnessed.

"We're currently in hyperspace Ranma, the hyperdrive is a special space-ship engine that we use to travel from one place to another at great speed, so we don't have to take too long, if we stuck to using sub-light engines, it would take far longer to reach the Republic."

Both Jedi smiled a bit at Ranma's look of cluelessness and decided that for at least one month and a half, they might as well teach him what they could. Their primary destination would have to be Coruscant so they could present their findings to both the Jedi Order, the Republic Senate, and then to Supreme Chancellor so the Republic could be prepared for the possible attack of the True Sith their forces …however, before they did that, they had to find an old friend of Revan's.

--------------

In the Republic Borders near the Outer Rim…

The Republic Hammerhead Class Ship, the Sojourn was still busy on it's current patrol in the Outer Rim…ever since the ending of the Sith Triumvirate and the slow recovery of the Jedi Order and the Republic, the Republic Navy had been able to at least recuperate it's losses and began to rebuild it's fleet…under the request of several key officials in both the Senate, Navy, and even among the Jedi. The Republic had still to recover from both the Mandalorian Wars and the Jedi Civil War so every ship that they had still in service, and in dry dock were called in to handle the border patrols and to prevent possible attacks from any source.

The Jedi Exile, who was once a General in the Republic Army in the Mandalorian Wars had done quite a lot to make the Republic recover it's strength. With his help and that of his crew on Dantooine to drive out the mercenary army there and giving the pro-Republic the time needed to recover, the Republic had a good foot-hold in Dantooine and with a slow but steady supply of funding, Dantooine was rebuilding, along with the slowly growing Jedi Enclave that was once there.

His aid in Onderon, and that of the Mandalorians ensured that General Vaklu's rebellion failed and his alliance with the Sith exposed, that was enough to break the loyalty around him by the citizenry since in the past Onderon was ruled by users of the Dark Side of the Force and after the last ruling house of Dark Side users were defeated, the Onderonians swore never align with Sith ever again, to know that Vaklu aligned with them was the final straw for them. With that, both Onderon and Dantooine aided in the defense of Telos after the Sith Forces came to decimate the recovering planet once more.

Telos owed it's recovery progress to the Exile as well, his support of Chodo Habat and his fellow Ithorians and his efforts to halt Czerka Corporation's involvement in sabotaging the recovery efforts, along with dealing with the resident Exchange cell helped the Recovery project to finish once the Ithorians were able to once more take command of the Restoration Zones taken from them by Czerka.

Nar Shaddaa also had a tie to the Jedi Exile, with his help in disrupting the Exchange, and giving hope to many, there was a great change in what was once the Smuggler's Moon in the hearts of the refugees from both Mandalorian and Jedi conflicts. By helping them and freeing the yoke of the Exchange, the people had hope for the first time, where there was none in the heart of the Smuggler's Moon.

In all, many planets in the Republic grew stronger from both the efforts of the two Jedi Knights and their comrades. Revan himself contributed heavily to the efforts during his time in the Republic hunting for the Star Forge.

Revan helped rescue several Sith students from Korriban, including Carth Onasi's own son Dustil from the Sith Academy he had established with Malak in his days as Dark Lord of the Sith, and he also helped free Yuthura Ban and with Uthar, the Head Master of the Sith Academy, dead and Malak as well, the Sith Order that they once had founded together from the loyal Jedi and Republic soldiers they corrupted, collapsed and destroyed itself with civil war and strife.

The planet of Manaan was also another place where Revan's efforts and that of his own crew helped the Republic in the conflict with Malak and his forces. With his help in disrupting the Sith's efforts to both take over Manaan and its' people and the defense of the kolto, the Republic was able to get enough kolto supplies to help them win the Jedi Civil War, along with the Selkath trusting him and his crew whenever he came, before he left for the Unknown Regions, he came there and gathered as much supplies as he could store, with the blessing of the Selkath High Council.

Kashyyyk was the most obvious planet that had the most effect of Revan's arrival, and what was once the Czerka Corporation's primary source of Wookiee labor was now a free world, and Revan and his crew were the only outsiders allowed to enter it's surface.

One man in particular had seen those events happen…after all, he had served as the Ebon Hawk's pilot in the time Revan owned the ship.

--------------

In the Sojourn…

"No sign of activity Lieutenant?"

The young female officer looked at the scanners on her console in the ship's bridge and shook her head as she reported to her commanding officer.

"I am afraid not Admiral…there's been no activity for the past few hours since we came here. Permission to speak Admiral?"

"Permission granted."

"We've been on random patrol duty for a long time sir…and apart from the last battle over Telos, there's been no sign of any Sith activity here…Do you think they might have gone away?"

"I rather doubt that Lieutenant, if there's one thing I've known about the Sith when I fought them long ago, is that no matter how many times you try to beat them back, you can't be rid of them forever, they'll just find a place to hide, lick their wounds, and plan, and before you know it, they come back and stab you right in the gut. That's why we can't be too careful when the Sith are involved."

"But I thought that with the Star Forge gone sir, they'd have no way of making another invasion fleet."

"I thought so too Lieutenant…I thought so too, but the Sith are very difficult foes, and they always have been. Keep scanning for any strange signs and report to me immediately."

"Yes Admiral!"

Carth Onasi sighed as he walked out of the bridge and headed to his quarters to get a hot cup of caf, he had been busy with a lot of things ever since the Exile took the Ebon Hawk with him to look for his old friend Revan. He still wished that he had the chance to find Revan, but he followed Revan's orders to keep the Republic safe and whole, besides that Revan had requested that none of them, even Bastila try to find him at all, and in a way, after learning what he could from the Exile, or rather from Jedi Knight Jesse, Revan had a very good reason for keeping them out of his mission.

He however knew that the others were affected a lot by Revan's disappearance and took it their own way.

For Zaalbar, it had been hard to leave Revan since he had a life debt to the Jedi Knight and Former Sith Lord. But he respected Revan and his intentions, besides that, the passing of his father and the death of his brother made him the new chieftain of his people, thus he too remained behind. He promised to keep his friendship and life debt to Revan alive until he would return and Carth knew that Zaalbar's Wookiee code of honor would make that promise as strong as durasteel plating.

Mission was also affected by Revan's absence, admitting that the Jedi Knight became the brother she wished she had. Though she and her brother Griff parted on good terms for the time being, she still wished for a family and Revan and the others filled that hole in her heart. Despite their still present bickering, Mission treated him as her father because he watched out for her, just as much as Revan did. Canderous was the gruff uncle she never had as he taught her how to better survive on her own due to his respect for her surviving at her age in Taris before Zaalbar came along. Bastila was like a sister to her, Juhani was like a mother now, as she took Mission under her wing, and Jolee was like the funny older grandfather she never had.

Now however she found a boy-friend…none other than his own son. Carth was a bit surprised when he came back to the Ebon Hawk to see Mission and Dustil talking and being friendly to each other after Korriban. He wondered what had happened between his son and the young Rutian Twi'lek girl, but after the Star Forge, he didn't mind the affections that grew between his son and Mission. Dustil still had his connections to the Force, and Mission was now part of the Republic's Intel Division, that way, the skills she had would be put to good use for the Republic.

Jolee was back among the Jedi Order and amazingly enough was part of the Council, and his attitude helped greatly in keeping the Jedi whole, despite his dislike for the Jedi, he admitted that the Jedi also helped him and it was time for him to help them, as Revan asked of him. Despite his nature of being the cryptic and cranky old man with a sense of humor, Jolee was also affected by Revan's absence as the rest of them were, he was the son that Jolee never had and the old man missed the arguments he had with the younger Jedi. And despite not admitting it, he was proud of the fact that it was his teachings on love's power to Revan that helped him save Bastila and make the two of them closer…to the point of their marriage.

Canderous, who now served as Mandalore was also affected, though the gruff mercenary didn't show it, due to his armor. He had been requested by Revan to reunite the scattered clans and help rebuild his people to make them a fighting force once more. The Mandalorian wished he was with Revan on any of the battles that he knew the Jedi Knight and the only man his people ever respected as a foe would be getting into…but he swore to follow Revan's commands, and he was. Revan learned much from Canderous as much as Canderous learned from Revan, and despite Canderous calling Revan his employer on occasion, he admitted that Revan was his greatest friend and ally.

The two got along well, with the gruff veteran telling the Jedi of his past and helping them in many battles in the search for the Star Forge…when Revan rescued Bastila from the Dark Side, he requested that Canderous protect her while she used her Battle Meditation and Canderous agreed whole heartedly…and after Revan and Bastila's wedding…he treated Bastila with great respect and honor, though he never gave up his habit of calling her a Jedi Princess to needle her on occasion. He also became friends with Juhani despite his part in helping in the Genocide of Cathar.

Juhani was also affected by Revan's disappearance. The Cathar Jedi owed Revan a great deal of things, the first was his previous rescue of her after she had been sold to slavery on Taris, and his rescue of her when she had fallen to the Dark Side. She still recalled how Revan helped her unleash her anger and frustration, but never struck her, and helped her recover her strength and belief in herself many times, she recalled then the time she told him her story and helped her finally come to terms with it.

The greatest tests however came then to her as they traveled to seek out the Star Maps and the Star Forge. She encountered Xor, a Twi'lek Mandalorian who took pleasure in killing and enslaving Cathar due to the wounds her people had inflicted on him. It was he who killed her father and tried to buy her as a slave all those years ago…he taunted her and it was only when Revan stopped her that Xor left with his life from her rage. However, he did not give up and she was able to fight him alongside Revan and Bastila on Tatooine. It was there that Xor tried to make her kill him by insulting her people, calling them no better than animals and his pleasure in killing and enslaving them…including the deaths of her parents.

Juhani was so badly tempted and came close to killing him, and falling to the Dark Side once more, but Revan again saved her, telling her through the Force that giving into Xor's tactics would make her the same as him, and he even went far as to place himself in front of Xor…right at her light saber's path to stop her from killing in anger while saying the Jedi Code to her. After Xor's death, she admitted that Revan had done so much for her and she would become stronger against the dark taint in her.

When she learned of his true identity, she swore that she would repay him for all he had done for her. And she did so as she and Jolee joined him in the Rakatan Temple and helped him stay on the path of Light when Bastila, corrupted by the Dark Side, tried to tempt him into becoming the Dark Lord. Revan thanked her and replied that she had repaid him in full. Juhani was now in Cathar, the home-world of her species, and there, she helped make peace with her past, namely becoming a good friend to Canderous.

For him, he had it a bit better off, though not by much. It was Revan in his past identity who made him open up to others and helped him come to terms in some ways with his past, namely when he lost his home-planet, his wife, and son. Losing Morgana and Dustil was a strong and painful blow to the former starship pilot and soldier and made him angry, not to mention the betrayal of Saul…Revan made up for that and there were plenty of times the guy did well and even saved his rear end from the fire as well as he did him.

It was his full agreement to help him reunite with Dustil and his help in convincing Dustil of the evil of the Sith that truly defined Revan, and finally he managed to make peace with the past when he found out just who his friend and somewhat brother was, and Revan making the choice to abandon the mantle of the Dark Lord of the Sith that made Carth see who he really was…a friend and ally to the end.

But he knew that the worst of the old crew of the Ebon Hawk who was affected by his absence was Bastila herself.

He recalled the times he and the others would be able to meet, and Bastila was with them. She was terrible…not in an evil way, but in a sad way. The first few days of not being with Revan showed in her face. The first time they checked up on her after Revan left, she opened the door with a look of expectation, hoping that any of them had been able to talk her husband out of going alone…but her hopes were dashed when she saw that none of them were accompanied by Revan. Bastila then would confide to them, even to Canderous how painful it was to wake up everyday in her room and bed to not see Revan beside her. The first few weeks of their life as husband and wife were fine, and they were enjoying life together, with the covert blessing of Master Vandar and a small number of the Jedi Council…but as time passed, Revan began to have nightmares…memories about the past…even if he didn't recall everything.

She did her best to help him, she even wanted to bare the burden with him, but he didn't want her too, and tried at times to hide the past from her, but she still could see the memories and visions through their Force Bond, despite Revan's attempts to shield her from them. It was then that Revan told her that he had to leave…and try as she might, she could never convince him to either change his mind, or to take her with him. She remembered the argument they had on it…and how hard she tried….until she was in tears. She told them on how Revan then told her that he wanted to stay with her, a great deal too, but with the visions telling him of a threat beyond the Outer Rim…in the Unknown Regions, then he had to go, to try and find out what was out there and how to stop it for the sake of her, his friends, the Jedi Order, and the Republic. The night after was the last night she and Revan were ever together…and despite her wish that he would stay with her, a part of her held on to that night tightly. He then told her that no matter what…as long as she was alive and waiting for him, then he would come back.

The first days of waking up without him with her were horrible…and as the days passed, and turned into weeks, and the weeks into months, and the months into years…the vibrant, confident, brave, compassionate, and calm woman that he and the others knew in their journey became depressed and withdrawn. Thankfully both he and Jolee managed to help her when she needed it, and she managed to lift herself out of her despair, and even more so when she realized that while Revan had dampened his Force Bond with her…he never severed it…it was faint, but it was still there….telling her that Revan was alive.

She took that faint but present hope to heart and managed to free herself from her depression and took to training the slowly growing number of Padawans that began to fill into the Jedi Order, she was currently teaching new Younglings in Dantooine, alongside the newly redeemed and now ordained Jedi Knight Yuthura Ban, the two became good friends since Yuthura owed her redemption to Revan and wanted to help others avoid her fate of falling in thrall with the Dark Side, and she respected Bastila greatly as well, having met her after leaving Korriban and before the attack on the Enclave.

On that regard, he sometimes wished he could have done something to talk to Revan about leaving Bastila, it reminded him too much of the time he had an argument with his wife Morgana on his re-enlistment with the Fleet during the Mandalorian Wars, and he knew how that turned out. He hoped that his two friends didn't suffer that kind of situation the way he did.

--------------

Later…

As he arrived and took out a cup of the hot beverage, he looked at the nearby holo-pictures, the first was of him with his wife and son in happier times. His wife Morgana was a beautiful raven haired woman with deep blue eyes, and a warm smile and gentle demeanor that also hid a strong and tough will. He could never talk her out of anything…and that was a nice thing.

Revan once asked him why Dustil was gifted with the Force…and he finally told him that long ago, his wife was a teen aged Padawan who was training to be a Healer, who he fell in love with in his last day before graduation in the Fleet Academy. Being that they were younger then, both had different reasons for being out.

Morgana's Jedi Master was on another meeting when she had done off to the cantina to take a light meal, and he was there with a few of his buddies from the Academy. When he saw her, he was in love, and the rest of his friends told him that even with his so-called Onasi charm, there was no way he could snare a female Jedi despite how attractive she was. He got the chance however when a band of drunks approached her and tried to ask her out. When she politely refused, one of them tried to grab her by the hand and force her to accompany them.

Being a gentleman and not wanting to see her harmed by the drunks, Carth quickly intervened…got into a fist fight and got hit hard for his trouble, but he helped her and when the authorities arrived to take away the drunks, she came up to him and healed his injuries and thanked him…even if he was not up to his best.

Ever since then, he would visit her in her Academy and woo her whenever he got shore leave after his times in the Fleet…much to the disapproval of the other Jedi, including Morgana's master. However, she didn't rebuke him like they did and as time passed, the two of them became inseparable. It was then that he told Revan of the one time Morgana told him that she felt the Force was in him too, but then said that he was already too old to be a Jedi apprentice. At the time he thought that it was a joke, and for some reason she never spoke of it, and therefore he forgot all about it.

However, it became inevitable that their liaisons would reach the next level and they consummated their feelings…in a hotel that he was taking some shore leave in. A few days afterwards, he was approached by both Morgana and her Master and he was told that her affair with him had been found out by the Council…and therefore she could no longer be a Jedi. Carth showed his love and loyalty to Morgana and accepted her without any problem and swore to take good care of her.

After the birth of Dustil, he missed the time Dustil had grown up…and then the Mandalorian Wars started…and finally the Jedi Civil War.

As he looked at the picture, he prayed that Morgana would rest easier now that he and Dustil were now mending their relationship, and hoped that she didn't mind their son having a girl-friend. He chuckled at how Morgana would have reacted had she seen Mission and Dustil together. (+)

As he looked at the other pictures of his son and his comrades, he took the time to finish his drink. It was then that a communiqué came on his desk.

"Excuse me Admiral Onasi…we're tracking a light freighter that has just entered this sector from hyperspace. We've managed to ID it sir and we're getting a transmission from the pilot of the ship…it seems that he's only going to speak to you Admiral."

"What's the ship's ID?"

"Sir, the ship's ID is the Ebon Hawk."

Carth had a small mouthful of caf at the time, and when he heard the name of the ship he once piloted…he made a quick spit take, thankfully to the floor of his quarters and not on his desk and on the communicator. He couldn't believe what he had just heard…

(Can it be?!)

Carth was not about to take any chances and hope too much…even after he mellowed out somewhat, there was no way he was going to let himself be caught off guard ever again.

"Have a secure line for me here in my quarters to the Ebon Hawk, I don't want to be disturbed until then, in the mean time, send the hold position order to the Ebon Hawk until I say otherwise, is that clear?"

"Yes sir! We've locked the pilot of the Ebon Hawk to you now."

Carth held his breath, as the image on his communicator became clear, and his eyes widened as he recognized the one who sat in the same pilot's chair as he did when he was the designated pilot of the Ebon Hawk.

"No way…is that really you Revan?"

"Nice to see you too Carth, who were you expecting it to be then? Darth Malak?"

Carth was still stunned as he looked at the face of his old friend. Revan's holo-image smiled and bowed.

"It's good to see you again Carth."

"It's great to see you too! Where have you been?! Wait a minute…is the Exile with you?"

"Right here Admiral Onasi."

Carth looked and saw the arrival of the Jedi Exile, Jesse Harvern on the communicator image, telling him quickly that the two were real.

"I can't believe it…you finally made it back Rev, what have you been doing all this time in the Unknown Regions?"

"I'll tell you once we get to a secure place, and it would be a good idea to contact the others, including Jesse's comrades…but it has to be done quietly Carth, we don't want everyone else to know that we're back already, at least until everything has been settled."

Carth sighed a bit.

"All right then, but you had better get ready for Bastila when she hears about this. The best place to go to would have to be Coruscant for now Rev, the place's security has gotten better since you've been gone and the Jedi Temple's gotten better security too, near to the point of paranoia if you can believe that. I'll begin sending the others signals soon once we're on our way."

"Got it, you take the lead Carth."

Carth nodded and then contacted the bridge crew.

"This is Admiral Onasi to the bridge."

"Bridge here sir, what are you're orders?"

"Give the order to head back to Coruscant for rest and re-supply, the Ebon Hawk will also be escorted to Coruscant under our protection."

"Yes sir!"

Carth then decided to get to work and spread the word to his friends and Jesse's comrades about their return. He couldn't help but smile as he began to contact the rest of the old crew of the Ebon Hawk, and the new crew as well, he could only imagine how they would react when they heard that Revan and Jesse were back.

He decided then to contact two women in particular who would be elated at the news of Revan and Jesse's return.

--------------

On Dantooine…

Bastila was currently testing the Force potential in lifting a few items off the floor alongside several Padawans. The brown haired Jedi Sentinel, who was now ordained a Jedi Knight by the surviving Jedi Council was busy training the new generation of Jedi to shield and protect the Republic in this dark time. Despite her fall to the Dark Side before, the Council knew that through Revan's intervention, she had been saved…despite the fact that they didn't openly acknowledge that she loved him. The only Jedi Master who knew of their romance and affection was Vandar Tokare himself, and the diminutive Jedi Master kept silent about it as their request.

She, along with Jolee, Juhani, Atris, the rest of the new Ebon Hawk crew, and Vandar Tokare, who had been able to escape the destruction of all life on Katarr, Visas' home planet, were the remaining Jedi survivors since the Sith Triumvirate started the shadow war to kill all Jed in the Republic, and even the Temple at Coruscant was not spared.

As of now, the Jedi were in the task of healing and rebuilding their numbers for who knew when the attacks of the Sith and whatever forces in the Galaxy would be coming to threaten the Republic. However, the female Jedi Knight had other concerns apart from training the new generation of Jedi…

She still at times tried to re-open her Force Bond with Revan, for the past many years since his mission to the Unknown Regions began. The Force Bond however was well sealed by Revan and even the training he had given Bastila was not enough to break through his shields. It frustrated her to no end on how come her husband had to be so adamant in hiding himself from her. It also made her feel torn since she knew that he wanted to protect her from harm, and to ensure that she would not follow him. It had only been the fact that he kept a part of the Force Bond alive to tell her that he still lived that kept her happy, though not in the largest way possible.

As she placed the thoughts aside for the moment, she smiled at the progress the Padawans were showing in their training. She found some peace in knowing the Revan did not die as she feared and also when training the new generation of Jedi Knights to defend the people of the Republic he cared about, but it was still not easy to do it without him by her side. She then placed those thoughts aside and spoke to the youngsters.

"That's enough for today young ones, you can now take a break in the Recreation Room."

The Padawans bowed and smiled.

"Thank you Knight Shan!"

As the Padawans left the room and ran towards the Recreation Room, one of the new facilities in the rebuilt Dantooine Academy, the young Jedi Knight sighed as she looked towards an open window towards the plains of Dantooine and took in the incoming breeze, smelling the air, and sighing once more.

(Revan, I wish you were here now…I miss you…so much…)

Bastila was about to leave the room and take a break in the cafeteria when she heard a very faint voice in the back of her mind.

("I know…")

The Jedi Knight turned quickly around to scan the area of her surroundings, intent on finding out just where did the voice come from. She even reached for her double blade lightsaber, the same one that she once made and the one Revan returned to her after freeing her from the Dark Side. As she used the Force to try to scan the area around her, hoping that it was not the Sith that was trying to find her.

During the five years since Revan's disappearance, many Sith Assassins have tried to hunt down the remaining Jedi and she, Jolee, Juhani, Yuthura, Dustil, and many others were only the handful that remained and evaded the death squads. With Jesse's aid in destroying the heart of the Sith forces, namely their operation base in the ruined planet of Malachor 5, the attacks ceased and this was what the Order needed to rebuild.

("Hmmm…calm down Bas, there's no need to fear, I could never hurt you…")

Bastila's eyes widened, and for good reason…there was only one man who said her nickname that way…and the tone of voice.

(No…)

She realized then that something was different, and she decided to focus her Force sense internally instead of externally, and sure enough, she felt it…

A part of the Force Bond she had with Revan opened…and a small but strong wave of sensation struck her senses hard. It was familiar, warm, and safe…it was the same sensation she felt when she was with…

("Revan….Revan, is that…you??")

She then felt the waves grow stronger and realized that somehow, the Force Bond she had was now being re-opened, allowing her to feel Revan once more, and she felt his joy, happiness, relief, and more flood her, even to the point she could even feel his smile.

("It's me Bas, I told you that I would come back…and I am here.")

Bastila couldn't help but feel her entire body nearly become lightweight, the joy and emotion she felt nearly floored her to the ground as she felt the presence of her husband and fellow Jedi Knight all around her mind, she couldn't help but cry in joy as she spoke to him once more through their Force Bond.

("Revan…you…you came back?")

("Of course I did…I said I would come back didn't I?")

Bastila wiped some of her tears and then gave a slight glare and gripped her robes a bit.

("Good…cause you have some serious explaining to do when you and I meet!")

("Uh…")

(" Don't you even try and pretend that you can talk me down…you….you arrogant, egotistical, male! Do you have any idea what is has been like for me for the past seven years?!")

("Bastila…")

("I am not finished! You left me all alone you nerf herder! You left me behind, and I have been worrying myself to near exhaustion every moment of every day for you! Do you know how much I missed you?! Every day and every moment I spent was hoping to see you again!")

( "I know…and I know that you suffered a lot, I can't blame you for that, but do you know how much I missed you too? I missed you every moment I spent out there in the Unknown Regions, every moment I was there, in the Ebon Hawk or in battle, the only thought I ever had was to see you again Bas.")

Bastila felt and knew the truth in Revan's statements and could tell that her husband was not lying to her, and she wept, in that instant, both of them had an idea on how much they both had suffered being separated from one another. The Jedi Sentinel cried once more and then replied to her Bond partner.

( "That still won't change the fact I am going to make sure you don't ever get the idea of leaving me alone again! Where in the Galaxy are you?")

( "I'm heading to Coruscant as we speak, I and Jesse already met Carth while we were out here and we're heading there now, you should be getting a call from Carth soon…I'll be waiting for you Bas.")

Bastila wasted little time as she walked to her quarters, and on the way there, Yuthura appeared. The Twi'lek Jedi Knight saw the change in Bastila's face and was a bit confused about it for a moment, and then realized that she had gone looking for Bastila to tell her something important.

"Bastila, do you have a moment to spare?"

"Yes, what is it Yuthura?"

"There's a call from Dustil's father, Carth Onasi for you in you're quarters. He says it is very important."

"Thank you, I have something very important to discuss with him, can you manage things for me for a while?"

The Twi'lek Jedi nodded.

"Of course I can, you be careful out there."

Bastila thanked Yuthura and made her way to her quarters, the Jedi had been able to assign special communications gear to most of their surviving Knights in order to rush in and quell disturbances…despite the low number of Jedi that still lived. As soon as she entered the room she had been given she took off her normal Jedi robes and was now wearing the normal combat body suit that she had worn many times in her journey alongside the others and Revan. Her hair had grown a lot more and she no longer wore them in the usual style she once had. She placed aside her lightsaber and sure enough, there was the signal of the comm.-unit telling her that a message was on. She flicked it on and before her was her old friend Carth Onasi who had a grin on his face…However before he could say anything…she beat him to it.

"Is it really true Carth…Has Revan really come back? Did you really see him again?"

Despite her desire to remain focused…she couldn't be objective when it concerned her husband, even if he did speak to her with their Force Bond…she still wanted proper confirmation, and Carth would never lie about anything.

The Admiral shook his head in mock disgust.

"He used that Force Bond he had with you didn't he…he just had to ruin the whole surprise I had in mind."

Carth's holo-image nodded with a smile, making Bastila realize that Carth had indeed met Revan.

"It's true Bastila, Revan's back, he and the Exile are making their way to Coruscant as we speak, I hope that you can….never mind, I KNOW you would do anything to be where he is. There should be a transport heading for Coruscant waiting there in the Khoonda Space Port, if not, I'll charter you a transport to get there."

Bastila smiled and replied.

"There's no need for the Carth, There's already an inbound transport that the Dantooine settlers have to sell their wares and produce, and it is making a routine run to Coruscant today. I can hitch a ride there…besides, Administrator Adara and Zherron won't mind having another passenger."

"Good, I'm already sending word to the others and to Jesse's crew about their return…including a personal message to Brianna herself, though I have no doubt that The Exile's using his own Force Bond with her right now to talk to her."

"That's good…I know Brianna will be overjoyed to know Jesse has returned…see you soon Carth and may the Force be with you."

"See you soon Bastila, and may the Force Be with you as well."

Bastila took up her lightsaber and left her room, and as she was about to head off, another presence stopped her.

"Revan has returned I take it Knight Shan?"

Bastila turned to find none other than Master Vandar Tokare looking at her with calm and patient eyes, though she could tell that the diminutive Jedi Master was very interested in Revan's return. She recalled that even if she didn't breath a word to the other Jedi in the Enclave about Revan's return, Vandar's species were always known to sense things in the Force far better than most, and with the defeat of Malak and the later defeat of the Sith Triumvirate, the Force was clearer now, and someone with a Force aura like Revan's was certainly something that can't be easily hidden.

"Yes Master Vandar…he has returned."

Though some Jedi may still harbor ill intent on Revan due to his time as the Dark Lord of the Sith. Vandar was among the few who knew Revan personally and respected the Prodigal Knight very much. Besides, he did have a hand in training Revan when he was still part of the Order and when he was reintroduced to the Force. Revan himself had a great deal of respect for the diminutive Jedi Master, both in his past time as Jedi before the Mandalorian Wars and in his time as a Padawan in the Jedi Civil War, and he did support their marriage as well.

"That is good…I am happy that he has returned home at last, and I have no doubt you are happy as well. If it will not discomfort you and Revan I wish to see him myself."

Bastila shook her head and smiled.

"Of course not Master Vandar, I believe Revan will be happy to see you too."

With that, both Jedi headed for the Khoonda Administration building to request the permission from the Administrator and the Militia Captain. Ever since the rebuilding of Dantooine and the aid of Jesse and his crew, the faith the settlers had for the Jedi was restored and there was no doubt in their minds that they would get the help they need from the settlers.

--------------

In Telos…namely in the Polar Regions…

Atris was tired, more tired than she had ever thought possible, but she put that aside for now as she ran through the holo-records that she had. As soon as she placed aside the last record in the catalogue, she reached for a nearby glass and drank some cool tea. She smiled a bit at the taste of the drink and the warmth. This tea was among the very few pleasures she had while she worked on her duties.

Ever since the end of the Second Battle of Telos and her redemption by Jesse's hands, she worked tirelessly to learn from her mistakes and learn the truth of things, plus she was in exile herself, but the Council allowed her to continue her place as Historian and she herself added Jesse's own history into the list. As she drank the tea, she wondered once more on how Jesse was doing. Long ago, they had been close friends, though she was older than him, however, the wars with the Republic and the Mandalorians broke that friendship and made them enemies. However, Jesse still cared about her and saved her from her own lies and gave her back a chance to do the right thing…and she didn't hesitate in doing it as well. For today she was not only serving as a Historian, but as a teacher as well.

Jesse told her that he wanted her to continue training Brianna and some of his comrades while he was away. Though she protested that she was not worthy of being a teacher to anyone, she nevertheless understood and honored his request. Long ago, she had tried to take care of Brianna and her sisters after the deaths of their parents…Arren Kae lost her life in the Mandalorian Wars and then Yusanis as well. Back then she did her best to shield them, but she also disliked herself for allowing the Dark Side to use her the way it did, and herself for letting her anger and lies blind her. Those led to the deaths of the sisters, leaving only Brianna alive. But in the time she spent with Brianna and the others, she learned to forgive herself and she swore to teach Brianna everything that she could.

In truth she was still jealous over the fact that Jesse had fallen in love with Brianna, since long ago…she too loved Jesse, but she never had the courage to tell him that, and her denial and anger destroyed those chances when she supported his exile and clamored for far greater punishment on him. It amazed her that Jesse, despite all she had done, found it in himself to save her, and though she could no longer love him, she knew that he was her true friend and comrade to the end. She saw the same qualities that made her care for him once more…and thus, couldn't blame Brianna for loving him the way she did.

As she finished her tea, she went to the training hall to see how Brianna was doing in her training with her double lightsaber, the very same one that Jesse had personally fashioned for her in their days traveling together. Atris knew that Brianna still wished that Jesse would return soon, and she too hoped that it would come to pass. There was much to discuss, and she knew that sooner or later, she would have to give her position as Historian to Brianna since the Council have asked her to sit among them to help in shepherding the Jedi in this dark time.

In the time she spent here in Telos, she trained Brianna on the other advanced Lightsaber forms as befitting the young Echani Jedi's status as a Guardian, to help her polish her other skills as well and teach her about the Force, as per Jesse's request. And she admitted that she was wrong in making Brianna deny her gifts in the Force…she would make an outstanding Jedi Knight, just like her mother.

Before she could speak to Brianna however, she heard the communication alarm come on, namely on the small communicator she had with her, telling her that a message of great importance was waiting for her. She sighed and decided to place her talk with Brianna aside until she knew who would be calling them at this time of the day on Telos.

--------------

(The lightsaber has to move with the body…feel the Force flow through you…channel it into you're limbs…)

Brianna thought back on her training with Jesse as she went on to practice with her double lightsaber and her personal variant of Ataru. As she did so, she began to wonder when would she ever see her beloved Jedi Weapon Master again…it had nearly been two years since she had seen him, but to her, it felt as if it had already been two hundred years since their last days together before he had left for the Unknown Regions on the Ebon Hawk, and she missed him a great deal…and for good reason.

She had been training for as long as she could in the Jedi arts after the last battle she had been in over Telos and her travels to the forbidden grave world of Malachor 5 along with many of the others that had joined under Jesse. She had kept tabs on them all as they had become very important friends and companions to her…even though some of their meetings were not very…friendly at first.

As she moved her double light-saber in the prescribed manner of the fighting style taught to her, she finished with several more spinning slashes and flips until she finished her training run. The silver haired woman then deactivated her light saber and sat on a nearby bench on the side of the training hall to calm herself and to think back on past events.

She couldn't help but smile on how she had met Jesse in the past. She had gone up to Citadel Station and found the Ebon Hawk and managed to steal both it and T3 and take them to the hidden Academy under the orders of Atris at the time, and sure enough the former Jedi General was right on their trail, looking for his ship. She and her sister Alema were the ones who found Bao-Dur when the Zabrak/Iridonian engineer was unconscious. Later she met up with her other two sisters, Kalina and Mari to face both the three intruders who were Kreia, Atton Rand, and Jesse Harvern himself. Jesse had looked at her most of all since she was the one who ordered him and his companions to place away their weapons. She recalled how disgusted she had felt before when Jesse smiled at her in a very flirting manner, and she recalled how different he was when he met Atris again. She had been somewhat surprised to hear that the blonde male before her was the Jedi Exile himself, the one her master had helped banish from the Jedi Order many years before. She had also suspected that her Mistress had deep feelings for Jesse despite the rather strong argument she had seen and heard them have before she and her sisters escorted the former Jedi away from the former Jedi Historian. This told her that the Jedi were not passionless and emotionless beings at all.

She recalled her conversation with the Jedi Exile when he was given leave by her Mistress to search for the Jedi Masters who had scattered in order to battle with the Sith that had now come out of hiding and were striking at the Jedi from the shadows. She had asked him about what it was like for someone to feel the Force and his description was very much accurate to what she felt now as she used her own connections to the Force.

Brianna then blushed as she recalled the times she had spent with Jesse, traveling from planet to plant, system to system to find the other Jedi Masters and to reunite them to fight the Sith that were gathering. When she had boarded the ship, she had naturally been very indignant that they had taken her Master's records and then told the assembled crew of Jesse, Kreia, Atton, and Bao-Dur that she would be joining them in searching for the Jedi Masters. The others were not very sure of allowing her to work with them, but Jesse didn't mind and allowed her to stay in their ranks and help them in their search, and this was the first act of kindness he would display to her…even if she had suspected that he knew that she was a spy from Atris.

Of course…it was not always easy to be working with him at all. During her time with the crew of the Ebon Hawk in the beginning, she had very much kept to herself in the cargo hold that she had decided to stay in while working with them, since despite adding her formidable mastery of Echani combat martial arts and weapon skills, she was still distrustful of the crew and Jesse himself. However, the former Jedi General decided to get to know her more and over time, her distrust lessened…up to the point that despite her reluctance at first, she took it upon herself to train him in Echani combat methods and styles, and in time she learned much from him as he from her and she admired his choice to face the Council's judgment willingly to defend his actions in the Mandalorian Wars…namely in Malachor 5. And his actions of showing selflessness, kindness, compassion, justice, and more to the ones who suffered and needed aid on the planets they had gone to, had further added weight to her growing beliefs that Atris was wrong in saying that Jesse was in thrall of the Dark Side. It was also there that she learned more about the Jedi from him and even asked if he had feelings for Atris once.

It was there that he admitted that in the past he had cared deeply for Atris and there might have even been hints of very romantic attachment between her companion and her Mistress. Then it had been strained during the period of the Mandalorian Wars as he wanted to go out there to fight the Mandalorians to stop their attacks on the Republic worlds and avenge the innocents and soldiers who died defying them. He had told her that he had even asked Atris to join them, but she refused him and they parted from each other, and not on good terms. Jesse then said that he didn't feel anger for Atris, as he had learned just how dangerous it was, though he did feel betrayed at some point after she and his former Jedi Master, Master Kavar stood by the Council and exiled him. He admitted that the time he spent in exile was worth it as he had time to think and reflect, though he would not change his stance on his participation in the War. In that regard, he admitted that even if it had been nearly ten years, he still considered Atris as beautiful as he had known her, though colder now, different from the kinder and hard working woman he had somewhat a crush on when he was still a younger man.

She apologized for making him remember those things, but he smiled at her and told her that it was all right…plus he commented on how beautiful she was as well…making her blush at that regard. This told her that despite her oath to Atris…and her family past…she was developing deeper feelings for Jesse.

This truth was brought forward to her as Visas Marr came on the ship. She had been among the other members of the crew working on some important matters when the Sith had entered the Ebon Hawk to capture Jesse for her master, the Sith Lord Nihilus. She had been incapacitated with the others as Jesse came in and fought with the Miraluka. She was freed from the state of Stasis after Jesse had managed to best Visas and rushed to help the Exile, she and the crew were stunned to see that instead of killing her quickly, Jesse spared Visas and took her to the Medical Bay for treatment. She was the first and no doubt the most vocal in saying that keeping Visas with them was a danger. She argued that since the Miraluka was a Dark Jedi, she would lure the Sith to them on their mission, and there was some truth to that…however, in her own private mind, she was somewhat jealous of the fact that Visas had sworn to protect Jesse with her life and to be by her side, and the fact that Jesse readily welcomed the Miraluka woman was not helping matters. In her passionate anger…and jealousy, she confronted Visas and fought with her, however, Visas bested her and then told her that her only desire was to protect the Exile and she then learned that the redeemed Miraluka saw something in Jesse that even she could not…owing to the fact that her species could see through the Force. The two of them talked and it was there that Visas told her of her own feelings towards Jesse as well as the feelings she herself had for the Jedi, namely when Visas asked her to describe Jesse to her. Despite the decrease of animosity between them…she was still rather wary of the Miraluka woman as she could tell from Visas' own body language…there was more to it than just a desire to protect Jesse.

In time, Jesse had earned enough of her trust for her to tell him her past…namely on her parents, who were Yusanis, Grand Master of the Echani, and a woman who was not his wife and mother of her half sisters. She told him that the way he carried his burdens reminded her greatly of how her father had been when he had that affair with her mother, which was why she was different from her sisters in some degrees, another topic that mystified Jesse when they met before.

She then told him of how he had gone alongside her to the Wars and when her mother had died, he came back broken and put aside the weapons he wielded and entered the political arena. And she told him about her father's death by hands of Revan as he had fought the former Jedi Knight in retaliation for the death of an Echani Senator. She did not blame her father for his actions, but his choice as Yusanis was married before having affair with Arren Kae and had left with her to fight. She then asked him never to speak of this to the others and he honored that wish.

She then asked him if there were instances like those of her parents…where Jedi would leave the Order out of love for another. He had been tempted to tell a joke about something he heard about years before, but decided not to and told her that there had been situations like that in the Order's history that he knew of…namely the relationship between Revan and Bastila, and even that of Jolee and Nayama Bindo, though he never had experienced them to that degree…but he told her that denying emotions and feelings was the same as denying that you are alive, which in a sense was worse, and in truth he did tell her that according to his knowledge…Jedi were not always celibate as most outside of the Order would believe, and despite the fact that some Jedi were indeed celibate due to them saying sex was an indulgence, there were those in the Order that did father children or give birth to them, and there were even Jedi families as well. It was just that due to the battles with Exar Kun that the Jedi Council began to forbid marriage in order to avoid the fall of so many Jedi, along with the tragic story of Ulic and Cay Qel Droma. She nodded at that and admitted that it was understandable that the Jedi would not allow marriage, but she agreed with Jesse about the danger of denying how you felt within as well. Though she never breathed a word of her own feelings towards him as she was not sure how he would take it, unlike Visas who wholeheartedly showed her devotion to Jesse, she was still not sure that she was ready to do the same as the Miraluka Jedi and now former Sith.

She had even asked advice from one of the crew, namely Mira when the bounty hunter had joined their ranks after helping them rescue Jesse from Goto on Nar Shaddaa and finding Jedi master Zez-Kai Ell. The red-haired bounty hunter and former Mandalorian was certainly different on how she would catch a man and Brianna admitted that it sounded more like she was hunting men rather than getting to know them. Regardless, she and Mira were friends.

During the time she had been training together with Jesse, she had to follow the traditions of her martial art, though she had some ulterior motives as she fought him in her own under-garments and that did have an effect on Jesse. She had reasoned that being in those articles of clothing would test Jesse if he was distracted, but that didn't work all that well as she had felt happy to see him gazing at her at times. Atton had brought that up at one point, telling her that he had seen her doing those things on Jesse and warned her not to try anything funny and that the Ebon Hawk was no pleasure yacht for her. She considered him a fool despite knowing that he was a trained fighter in the same arts of her people's fighting style.

On their final sparring match, it was there that Jesse challenged her belief that clothing was a hindrance. He told her that with clothes on, it would make it a more suitable test of her skills, she didn't see any flaw in the logic and took out more suitable clothes to test her skills in. However, those same clothes were those of her mother, and they were the clothes of a Jedi. That was when Jesse asked if she knew that her mother was Jedi Master Arren Kae a famed hero of the Mandalorian Wars years before. When she said yes, he told her that she would then be able to use the Force and could use it to help others, just as he did, along with her mother. At first she was reluctant to betray her oath to both her sisters and to Atris as she had sworn to never learn about the ways of the Force…but her trust and affections for Jesse won her over and she asked to be trained by the Jedi Weapon Master. Although Jesse was somewhat reluctant, she had told him that she would not accept any other teacher but him…and in that, he accepted to train her. And in time, he told her that her skill as a Jedi Guardian, the same as him was very considerable indeed and she combined her newly learned Force talents, and Jedi combat skills with the lightsaber with her own Echani training…becoming very powerful in her own right. She helped lead the strike team of herself, Mira, and Visas on Dxun while Jesse, Kreia, and Mandalore led the strike on Onderon.

She had accompanied them to Dantooine to meet the other re-united Jedi Masters, but Kreia revealed her Sith nature there and then as she stopped the Jedi Masters from cutting off Jesse's connection to the Force after they told him the truth of what had happened both at his trial and at Malachor and why he survived while so many others died. The Sith Lord then slew the Jedi Masters and allowed her to believe that Jesse was dead as well. Her passions, emotions, and feelings got the better of her as she took the Sith Lord prisoner and went back to Telos to make sure that Kreia would stand trial for the deaths of the Jedi Masters…and of her beloved. She had wanted to tell him her true name then, but her mistaken belief that he was dead made her unable to do so. The same anger also blinded her to the fact that Kreia or rather Darth Traya had allowed Atris to fall to her own darkness and twist her sisters against her. As she walked in and tried to reason with them all, Mari, Kalina, Alema, Sani, and Claria then called her a traitor to them and Atris and considered her crime as worthy of execution. Despite her attempts to reason with her sisters, it was too late, and she was forced to fight them with her double lightsaber, the one she carried now. She showed to them that she was now no longer the 'Last of the Handmaidens' and defeated them all in combat though it pained her to have to do this to her own kin. It was then that she faced Atris who was now corrupted by the Dark Side.

Despite her skills and newly found talents, it didn't take long for her to be beaten by the veteran Jedi as Atris had much training, more than she did in the art of lightsaber combat and the knowledge she had gained from the Sith holocrons that she had kept hidden in her chambers. Atris then ended the fight with a powerful blast of Force Lightning…injuring her gravely and the Dark Jedi continued her assault on her and in anger accused her of looking at Jesse with love and acceptance. She and Atris then turned to see none other than Jesse Harvern…alive! Before she could do anything her pain overwhelmed her as her former mistress blasted her with a strike of Force Lightning, and knocked her out, she would have died had she not remembered Jesse's lesson on using the Force to heal her injuries and keep her conscious, and afterwards, she had a reunion with him after he defeated and spared Atris to take the path of redemption. It was there that she finally told him her real name and he smiled warmly at her for telling it to him, and there, afterwards, she swore to fight beside him, and to protect him from anyone who would try to harm him…very much in the same manner that Visas did when Jesse had bested her and freed her from her former Master's grasp. Their alliance held firm as they battled the Sith on Telos, and it was there…after Jesse had healed her that she and Atris worked together to ensure the safety of the space station while Jesse, Mandalore, and Visas went with the other Mandalorians to take out the Ravager, Darth Nihilus' personal command ship. It was there that they managed to patch up their differences as well, and it was there that Brianna forgave Atris and Atris promised never to follow the path of the Dark Side ever again.

It was after Jesse had returned to Telos after the battle that they went to Malachor 5, many of them were injured there and had barely managed to free the Ebon hawk after it crashed and rescued both Mira and Jesse after they each fought their own enemies. Mira finally defeated and spared her Wookiee enemy Hanharr, and Jesse had defeated both Darth Sion and then Darth Traya herself, his injuries had been considerable and it made her worry greatly about his state of mind after all that he had endured in the Trayus Core, the very heart of the Academy on Malachor established by Revan in his time as a Sith Lord.

He then spent time to rest and while the others reveled in their victories…only she, Visas and Atton knew that something deeply troubled their leader, teacher, and close friend. Both of them encouraged her to find out the answers and she visited him in the same room that he, Atton and Kreia had stayed in before. It was there that Jesse told her about his plans. He planned to leave behind his holocrons messages to the others, concerning his wish for them to do whatever they could to keep the Republic safe and rebuild the Jedi Order, and his orders for them to remain behind as he planned to meet up with Revan to help him fight the True Sith out there in the Unknown Regions…including her.

Brianna was stunned and tried desperately to argue with him, that he was better off helping the Republic by being here than wandering off into the Unknown Regions by himself. Jesse however was adamant in his decision and she knew that she could not dissuade him…until she told him that she was in love with him and didn't want him to leave, and she even begged him to at least let her come with him. Jesse smiled sadly and before she could do anything, he kissed her deeply…making her blush as she finally kissed him back, with every fiber of her being… after their kiss, they broke away and he then sighed once more and thanked her for telling her the feelings she had in her heart and her wish to fight beside him against the True Sith…but he refused her offer, he loved her as well…from the very moment they met in the Academy, but couldn't handle the thought of her dying out there in the Unknown Regions. He wanted her to remain and prepare for the worst and he had asked Atris to retake her position as Master and teach them all the other aspects of being Jedi…to rebuild the Order and keep the Republic safe. She tried once more to reason with him, and he replied that another reason he wanted them to remain behind was that they were important to him, they were his friends, allies, and in a sense, family…but she was the most valuable and most precious to him because he loved her. As long as he knew that she was safe and free from harm, he would do everything he could to come back to her.

Brianna cried and then made him stay with her for as long as he could afford…and it was then that she asked him to at least show him how much he did love her. She giggled a bit at his look of surprise and shock…apparently not expecting this to happen between them so suddenly, but she was not going to be refused this chance…and he relented.

The Echani Jedi blushed once more as she recalled their night together, and it made her wonder if the joy, and happiness she had felt that night was the same that her parents felt when they themselves did this act together. She smiled at Jesse as she and him went to sleep. And the next day…she woke up and saw that he had left, but not before leaving her a necklace that had a fragment of his own personal crystal, as a promise that he would return to her.

Brianna sighed and finished her meditation and thought to herself once more.

(Will I ever see him again? Please come back, I miss you…)

It was then that Atris came into the room with a smile on her face. Brianna wondered what was going on as she sat off the bench and walked over to her Master.

"Master Atris…what is going on?"

"I have news Brianna…the Ebon Hawk is back…I have received word from Admiral Carth Onasi that the Ebon Hawk has returned from the Unknown Regions…Revan and Jesse are onboard…they are here."

Brianna's eyes widened as she gasped at the meaning of it and she felt her heart race at the thought. She managed to regain her wits and spoke as calmly as she could manage.

"Is that…true…they have returned?!"

"Yes. The message from the Admiral is only half a standard hour old. The Admiral states that we are to meet them all on Coruscant, as Revan and Jesse have asked him to contact the others. I have already called in a shuttle to pick us up now. Will you be ready soon?"

"I am prepared to leave, I just have to take care of something."

Atris smiled at the joy on her student's face.

"I will be waiting for you in the Hanger Bay…I also made sure to contact Bao-Dur and he has informed me that he will be on the shuttle as well."

Brianna nodded and made her way to her chambers. It was when she went into the room to change into her mother's robes that she saw the necklace Jesse had given her. The fragment of the crystal that belonged to her beloved Jedi Weapon Master glowed brightly, telling her that he was indeed coming home. As she took the necklace and held it close to her she then tried to reach out with the Force to feel her beloved, while using the fragment to guide her thoughts. Jesse did tell her that they had a Force Bond and it was time to see if she could speak to him.

As she did so…she felt a warm presence surround her and sure enough, it was then that she heard Jesse' voice in her head.

("It's nice to hear you're voice again Brianna…")

( "Jesse…you really are back! Please tell me you won't leave again!!!")

( "I won't…I swear it to you…There's so much I want to say to you, but we can only do it when we're face to face. I will see you on Coruscant until then my beloved.")

( "I will be there…you have my word!")

With that, Brianna put on the necklace and made her way to the Hanger and as soon as she was beside Atris, the planetary shuttle, provided by the Ithorians herd and their leader, Chodo Habat on Telos arrived. And as the ramp opened, there was Bao-Dur with a wide smile on his face, he was overjoyed at the news of the return of his General, and was given permission to go there to Coruscant as well.

The two women boarded the shuttle and were now on their way to secure safe transport to Coruscant to meet up with the others, and they wondered if their comrades and those of Revan had gotten the same message they did.

On Nar Shaddaa…

"Well now…this is great news indeed."

Mira replied as she read over the data that was coming from her communicator. The former bounty hunter and now Jedi Sentinel was happy to know that Jesse had returned ever since he had gone off into the Unknown Regions to find Revan. He had done a lot for her, and she admitted that she was happy that he was back from the adventures he no doubt had been in with his former commander. She had been very much offended that he had gone off and left them all behind to help Revan. He however had given them orders, very important ones, and hers was very important. And that was to find any Force Sensitive children and have them brought in for training with the consent of their parents, if they were still alive today.

The former Bounty Hunter was happy that things were about to get a lot more entertaining and more interesting now that Jesse was back, she was very thankful for the Jedi Weapon Master had been able to open her up to the Force and this was something she soon got used to. It would also be nice to finally see some old faces once more around her. Plus, she was wondering if Brianna was going to follow her advice, and that was to get some neural disruptors and restraints to make sure Jesse was not going to get away from her again, no way was she going to miss this! With that in mind she got a special pass from the docking authority to take her ship, the Red Shadow and head off to Coruscant…GOTO could always pick up the bill for her.

--------------

On Manaan…

"Never thought I'd see the day he'd show up again. I wonder what sort of mess is our fearless leader going to drag us all into this time?"

Atton Rand said with a sarcastic but happy tone and a smile as he was given the data pad containing the information on Jesse's return from the Unknown Regions. The former Scoundrel, Sith Assassin, and now Jedi Sentinel was on his job of keeping an eye on the flow of kolto for the Republic and also for the people who needed it the most. He had been busy keeping with his contacts with the seedier elements in the universe and was able to locate and deal with a rogue band of smugglers who were gathering kolto shipments for a bogus company who were aligned with the Sith. He put a stop to that with the aid of the Selkath and the Republic and managed to avoid being found out by the other smugglers and the Sith. But now to learn that his master had returned as something of great interest for the Jedi Sentinel.

If it hadn't been for Jesse, he would have never been able to make peace with the things he did when he was still part of the Sith and be able to learn about the Force…in all honesty, he began to understand how painful it must have been for Jesse to have the Force severed from him like that. But he put that aside as he boarded the next freighter bound for Coruscant.

--------------

On Dxun…

"Hah…well, this will be an interesting day…Kelborn! Get into the command center immediately!"

Canderous Ordo, or rather, Mandalore said to the comm. system on the Mandalorian Base on Dxun, the Demon Moon as it was known to the residents back on Onderon. The Mandalorians had been able to keep out of sight from the people of Onderon and thankfully no one was ready to declare war on the slowly growing number of Mandalorians here on the jungle moon. He had been told by Revan to reform the Mandalorians and be ready for anything, and now that Revan was back, he was going to be very pleased with seeing his employer…and friend once more. To finally meet the only Jedi he ever respected and considered to be the ultimate warrior, and the Jedi Knight who helped him reunite his scattered people and gave them glory in battle was the best day of his life and he was not going to miss it."

"Yes Mandalore?"

Kelborn said as he entered the command center, the Mandalorian Scout was among the few Mandalorians apart from Kex, Zuka, and Bralor that Canderous trusted….not that his other Mandalorians are weak and traitorous, but one never gets to be Mandalore without being careful of alliances. But the Mandalorian Clan Leader put that aside and gave his orders to Kelborn.

"I'll leave you in charge of the Base…I have some very important matters to deal with on Coruscant, tell Kex and Zuka to get the shuttle ready for travel."

"At once Mandalore!"

--------------

On Katarr…

Visas Marr was busy with her work on re-populating the world that she grew up on when she was younger with the new settlers of her people. After her visit on the desolate world of Katarr…she vowed to herself that her world would be restored and it would be filled with life once more for the memory and honor of all who died that fateful day. The Republic had recovered to a point that they re-terraformed the once dead world and the spark of life was back on that world. Visas had naturally been placed in charge of the operation under Jesse's personal recommendation and the Miraluka Jedi was happy for that.

Now that she was told that the Exile …Jesse was returning back to the Republic, safe and alive made her very happy indeed, she had much to tell him and much to show him as her world was reborn and life and the Force filled it once more. She wondered how she was doing and if he was finally at peace.

She spoke to the others that she personally picked for the resettlement of Katarr and decided to take the next shuttle straight back to Coruscant to see her closest friend and brother.

--------------

On Kashyyyk…

"Well now…cover me in bantha poodoo and call me a tach's uncle…"

Jolee Bindo was smiling as he read the incoming message from his data-console. He had taken a vacation from the Council for the time being and had returned back to Kashyyyk to see his comrades Zaalbar and Mission, the Twi'lek was also coming along to visit her long time friend. Due to the elderly Jedi and the Rutian Twi'lek's respective involvement in removing Chuundar from power and reinstating Freyyr and Zaalbar as leaders of the village, they were among the members of Revan's crew and Revan himself who were welcomed to Kashyyyk by the Wookiees. He was surprised to be getting a message from Carth since he had told the admiral that only under special circumstances was he to be called…but being told that Revan had returned to the Republic alive and safe was certainly cause for him to be happy.

"What's up Jolee?"

The elderly Jedi turned to see Zaalbar and Mission coming towards him and he smirked. He knew for a fact that Mission looked up to Revan as a big brother, and the elder Jedi Knight proved to be more of a brother figure for the young teen Twi'lek then her real brother Griff, though the two Vao siblings had managed to patch things up between them. The Jedi also knew that his companion Zaalbar owed the former Sith Lord and redeemed Jedi Knight a great deal…not only was his world freed from slavers, but his traitorous brother was removed and the taint of betrayal was wiped clean from his family and things were set to right.

Jolee showed them the data-pad and Mission squealed with delight as Zaalbar roared in happiness to finally getting the chance to see Revan again. And the Twi'lek turned to being the happy and joyful young woman that she was as she realized that Revan was coming back into the scene. It didn't take very long for Zaalbar to get permission to leave Kashyyyk from his father and the same could be said for Mission and Jolee.

--------------

On Cathar…

Juhani was busy working on the restoration of her war ravaged world and at this point was overseeing the recovery of the planet's bio-system. Cathar had been reclaimed and was now made into a member worlds of the Republic and like Telos was being repopulated by the Cathar who left it after the devastating attack of the Mandalorians on their world. Juhani was happy to finally be the one, along with only a handful of fellow Cathar and chosen officials to help in it's rebirth into a world where life existed.

The Jedi Knight felt great peace in herself as she worked in the restoration of her world and she had a lot to thank Revan for all of his help in her life. It was then that her communicator activated, using a special code that only she and the others in the Ebon Hawk's crew knew of. As she looked at the message, she gave a warm smile.

"So…you have returned after all."

Juhani was pleased to learn that Revan had indeed returned back from the Unknown Regions and that was a very good sign in her mind as she had hoped that he was safe and in good hands when he had taken his leave from them all a very long time ago. The fact that he was coming back was a good sign to her and was worth taking the time off the project.

With that in mind, the Cathar Jedi talked to her colleagues and when they agreed to let her go, she took the personal shuttle and made her way to the Coruscant system.

--------------

On Coruscant…

The assembled crews of the Ebon Hawk were all there and waiting, Bastila, Carth, Juhani, Mandalore/Canderous Ordo, Mission, Jolee, and Zaalbar made the first crew along with Dustil, while Atris, Brianna, Atton, Mira, Visas, and Bao-Dur made the second crew. And along with them was Master Vandar as well, who was happy to sense Revan's Force Aura as well. They all watched as the Ebon Hawk managed to make it to the landing pad, despite the still battered condition of the Ebon Hawk, the crews both remembered the adventures they all had on the ship that was now arriving.

As the Ebon Hawk landed on the landing pad and the ramp went down, they all watched intently and out of the Ebon Hawk's ramp came two easily recognizable faces and forms. One was T3-M4 as the little astrogation droid came down, and the second was the form of HK-47, the assassin droid was still carrying the Charric Rifle and when the droids spotted that the crews were all there, the little droid sent out a signal and sure enough, out came two individuals.

Bastila felt her legs become weak as she felt the Force Aura of her husband near her, and this time, it was moving deeply in the Light Side of the Force in the way that she knew and loved. She looked and saw Revan as he traveled down the ramps with a slight limp, but otherwise fine…his visage softened greatly as he saw her again.

Brianna also felt like she was going to faint as she felt the Force Aura of her beloved near her once more…and it was seeped deeply in the Light Side, the same way she remembered him to be when they first met. She saw Jesse look at her and smile the same honest, slightly goofy, but loving smile that she loved the most, and his own visage softened greatly at seeing her again.

Both women wasted little to no time to great their loved ones and rushed towards them. Bastila hugged Revan, nearly knocking the Jedi Knight over as she hugged him, unmindful on the others watching, and before Revan could even greet her, she kissed him right on the lips, the Jedi Knight didn't protest as he missed Bastila and he kissed her back with the same passion as she was kissing him with. Brianna likewise rushed into Jesse and hugged him strongly and sobbed on his Zeison Sha Warrior Armor, the Jedi General and former Exile hugged Brianna and kissed her once she looked at him and the two held each other once more…happy to be together after quite a long time.

Carth was laughing, while Canderous, with his Mandalore helm off couldn't help but sigh and shake his head at the sight while chuckling, Mission was giving them the face and told Revan and Bastila to quit making out in public and get a room with Dustil calming her down, while Zaalbar was more supportive of the whole affair, Juhani coughed a bit and recited the Jedi Code while trying not to laugh as well, Jolee however was smiling widely and was trying not to laugh as well. Atton gave a lewd comment, for which he got both elbows in the chest from Mira and Visas, both the female Mandalorian and the Miraluka smirking as well…while Atris smiled at how happy Brianna was, and Bao-Dur cheering his General on.

The droids also joined in as T3-M4 gave a series of happy chirps and whistles…while HK on the other hand muttered darkly about human meat-bag mating rituals and his worst thought…human affection.

Master Vandar coughed a bit…making the two couples realize that the place they were in was not exactly the kind of place for such intimacy. That and the fact that a Jedi Master was before them made them blush and feel embarrassed. Revan was the first to speak to the diminutive Jedi Master.

"I…sorry Master Vandar, I didn't know you were…"

"All right it is young Knight Revan…Deep affection between you and Bastila I have long suspected. There is no need to hide it from me."

The diminutive Jedi Master then bowed before Brianna and Jesse, both were also somewhat embarrassed by the displays of affection they gave, but the Jedi Master merely let it slide instead. It was then that the other crew all moved forward and congratulated the return of their long lost friends.

Carth and Revan shook hands and laughed at the things that happened, while Canderous and Revan greeted each other in Mando'a, the language of the Mandalorians, which Revan had learned as he and Bastila had been married in a Mandalorian ceremony as well, Mission rushed in and hugged Revan smiling and laughing all the while as Revan was happy to see his adopted sister once more. Juhani and Revan spoke with respect to one another, while Jolee and Revan began to joke and needle each other, and Zaalbar…as Wookiees do, hugged Revan nearly chocking the Jedi Knight who laughed a bit as he hugged Zaalbar back.

Jesse and Atton shook hands and they began to talk about the past adventures and Atton jokingly asking when he and Brianna were going to tie the knot, that naturally made Jesse and Brianna blush, while Mira and Visas chided Atton for asking such a personal question of the couple, while they also greeted their master and friend. Jesse and Bao-Dur then shook each other's hand and hugged one another in greeting. Canderous and Jesse also greeted each other as the Mandalore and the Jedi General had some history…after all, Jesse was another Jedi who gained respect from the Mandalore having been the commander of the fleet above Malachor 5 who crushed their forces. Atris then stepped forward and both Jesse and the reinstated Jedi Historian shook hands once more, though there was a great deal of history between the two of them, they were still close and it was good for Atris to see the man she once loved and cared for…and still did.

Master Vandar then greeted both Jesse and Brianna who were still in their embrace and it made the diminutive Jedi Master smile a little as he watched them, after all…before this all happened, he had a hand in training Jesse Harvern himself many years ago when the Jedi Exile/General was still a youngling. He then noted something else…another Force presence, and it was growing rapidly, he was not the only one as the Jedi members of the two crew of the Ebon Hawk sensed the Force Aura as well. Jolee was the very first to comment on this sudden sensation as the elderly Jedi looked at Revan for an explanation to this sudden occurrence.

"Did you happen to bring anyone or anything with Force Sensitivity onboard the ship sonny?"

Revan nodded as he turned and then spoke in a language that none of the others knew. And this was none other than the language of Ranma's country of origin, Nippon go, or otherwise known as Japanese.

"Ranma, it's time to come on out."

The others then looked on as another voice came from the Ebon Hawk, who also spoke the strange alien language that none of them seemed to know. However, the voice seemed to belong to a young child, and from the tone and pitch, they could tell that it was a male child. Only Revan and Jesse understood the language, along with T3-M4 and HK-47. The Jedi General then spoke to the voice in reply to what appeared to be some sort of question.

"It's all right Ranma…they are good people, you don't have to be afraid."

It didn't take very long for the rest of the two crews of the Ebon Hawk to finally see just who was onboard the Ebon Hawk. It appeared to be a human child, around five or six years of age with black hair that was tied in a pig-tail, and deep blue eyes. The little child looked about in awe as he looked at the massive structures of Coruscant, and naturally, the Jedi temple as well. The young child then looked towards the others.

Ranma remembered his manners and ever since he had been awakened to the Force, she could sense the power coming out from the many people before him and he was in awe at that much Force potential, especially when he looked at Jedi Master Vandar Tokare. The Jedi Master resembled a small gremlin in his eyes, but he couldn't deny the power that was coming off the Jedi Master.

Revan then spoke to Ranma in Galactic Basic.

"Ranma…why don't you introduce yourself?"

The dark haired boy recalled his mother's training in manners and social interaction and despite still not being used to such things…he did so and bowed before the assembled Jedi and their non-Jedi comrades and spoke to them in Galactic Basic as well.

"Hello there…my name is Ranma Saotome."

The crews of the Ebon Hawk, including Bastila and Brianna then looked at both Revan and Jesse, they all wanted some form of explanation as to what this youngster was doing on the Ebon Hawk, who he was, and why did the two Jedi bring him along from the Unknown Regions. The Jedi among them however could sense the Force in the young boy…growing by the second and it seemed to only get stronger and stronger.

Revan and Jesse knew that today was going to be a very long day as they would have to explain not just why they left for the Unknown Regions, but why Ranma was with them as well. In the meantime, the two Jedi decided to let Ranma meet their comrades who they had worked with for many years.

As Ranma met the crew and saw the glittering city planet known as Coruscant…he realized that what Revan and Jesse had said to him and his mother back on Earth was very much true…he was about to take his very first steps into a much larger world…and in this case…a much larger universe. He hoped that he could truly become a good Jedi Knight… someone his mother would be proud of and call her son. He then prayed to Kami-sama that he would be able to prove himself worthy of not just his mother's trust in letting him train, but for Revan and Jesse giving him this chance to become a Jedi Knight.

He was about to enter a new world and see things that anyone on his world would have been stunned to see in their life-times

--------------

To be continued…

--------------

() – This is just a take on how come Carth acts like he does if you play the game, even more so if you were playing a female Revan…and also, I wondered just what Carth's wife was like.

--------------

KOTOR Terms:

**Kashyyyk – **Known as the home world of the Wookiee people, Kashyyyk is known as one of the most densely covered worlds in the Known Galaxy, and apart from it's Wookiee residents, the planet hosts many other rare animals, namely a small population of the Jedi Killer beasts that terentateks, various bantha species, tachs, along with many others including the katarn predators. This world was once part of the Rakatan Infinite Empire and used as an agricultural world, however, with the collapse of the Infinite Empire, the terra-forming devices were unattended and before they finally ceased functioning or powered down, they had been able to influence the planet's growth, resulting in the massive trees and foliage that covered the world.

The world was then invaded by Czerka Corporation, they then began to use Wookiees as slave labor, with the aid of a traitor Wookiee named Chuundar, brother of Zaalbar and son of Chieftain Freyyr. Zaalbar was exiled by Freyyr for attacking his brother with his claws when he found out about his brother's dealings with Czerka, labeling Zaalbar as a mad claw. Upon Revan's arrival to the planet, he and the rest of the crew aided in finding Freyyr and helped recover Bacca's Ceremonial Sword, a powerful heirloom to the Wookiees. This led to a rebellion against Czerka led by Zaalbar and Freyyr, forcing Czerka to leave Kashyyyk and led to the death of Chuundar, and the lifting of Zaalbar's mad claw status. Revan and his crew were now known to the only band of outsiders welcomed in Kashyyyk ever since.

**Wookiee – **The Wookiees, or known in their tongue as the People of the Trees are strong and powerful race who live in tree villages in Kashyyyk. They are a society that adhere to many rules, and the most striking of all is the rule that forbids the use of their claws as weapons in battle, any Wookiee that violates this rule are known as mad claws, beings without honor and are exiled from Kashyyyk. Standing two meters in height, and covered in thick coats of brown fur, though albino Wookiees are born on occasion. Wookiees are considered odd by new comers and strangers, and those who are familiar with their race know them well. They understand Galactic Basic but due to their vocal structure, they cannot speak it, the Wookiees are exceptionally intelligent despite their bestial appearances, they have also mastered space travel, and are quite adept in mechanical repairs. They also possess amazing strength, stamina, and recuperative powers and can live up to 600 hundred years. Their young can already be fully grown in one standard year after birth, making them a very hard species.

Wookiees are short tempered on occasion and combining their massive strength, rumors of Wookiees being able to rip arms off a foe with their bare hands are common. Despite the truth in some of these statements, Wookiees are generally affectionate and gentle beings, their anger only coming out should they be in danger, their friends and family are in danger, and they need to fight.

One notable trait in Wookiee culture is the life debt, when a Wookiee swears a life debt to someone, he/she vows to serve, aid, and protect that person as long as he/she lives. Thus it is a swearing of life time service to someone. Revan himself has a life debt to Zaalbar, after saving him from slavers and even more so for helping him regain his place in his village and freeing Kashyyyk from Czerka.

Despite their gentle and affectionate nature, Wookiees are recognized as fearless and deadly fighters, wielding very deadly weapons in combat, and discarding blasters and grenades, they use their own weapons such as the ryyk blade, ryyk kerarthorr, and the bow caster, along with other signature weapons and armor of Wookiee design, these weapons and armor are know by only used by Wookiees, showing their own unique way of fighting. They also are able to use a unique form of martial arts, which rely on their strength and power, and as such, only Wookiees can truly use that fighting style.

**Hyperdrive – **This device is known to exist in many ship classes, the exception being fighter types, unless they had supporting hyper drive systems. A hyperdrive is essentially a very powerful engine system that can create a warp in hyperspace and real space. This allowed ships to literally 'jump' the distance between one sector of space, to the next. The process of entering hyperspace is when the hyperdrive boosters would provide enough energy to allow the ionization chamber to begin ignition of the radiation created by the ship's fusion reactor. The released radiation will create ripples in the time-space matrix and propel the ship to ride those said ripples to enter hyperspace.

To protect the passengers, the ship itself, cargo, and crew from being crushed by the tremendous force of the acceleration caused by a hyperspace jump, all ships are armed with built in inertia dampeners. And to further protect the ship, crew, and cargo, every ship has a built in quantum field generator to stabilize the ship and prevent it from entering an alternate dimension accidentally. All ships are then required to use particle shields to protect them from interstellar gas pockets and dark matter particles. There are also built in stasis fields that help keep the ship and crew in real time with the time flow of dimensional space outside of hyperspace.

Special technology is used to decelerate a ship once it has arrived to it's destination, the wake rotation in real space and the radiation created by the ship's exit from hyperspace acts as a beacon to both nearby ships and planetary docking authorities. All ships are armed with failsafe features and technologies to prevent disasters in hyperspace traveling ships, to prevent them being ripped apart, and/or overheating of the hyperdrive. As a rule, a ship must be away from the gravitational influence of a celestial body (star, planet) to safely initiate it's jump into hyperspace.

Although other species have created workable hyperdrive system…the true users of the technology for interstellar travel were known to be the Rakata in the height of their Infinite Empire, using technology fueled by the Dark Side of the Force. After the fall of the Infinite Empire, it was only after 200 years did several species including humans discover how to make hyperdrive systems that did not use the Force. Though it was only during the Expansionist Era of the Known Galaxy that hyperdrive systems spread throughout the Known Galaxy, resulting in both brutal wars known as the Hyperspace Wars…and times of tremendous economic prosperity for various systems, as such, hyperdrive systems, while becoming more common is part of the reason for the growth of inter-galactic prosperity.

**Zabrak **– The Zabrak are one of the first space faring races in the Know Galaxy during the early days of the Republic. They are Human in form though they have vestigial horns that grow on their heads at puberty which also come in various forms. They also have special faint tattoos on their faces that are known as symbols in their rites of passage, their family line, place of birth, or their personality traits. The Zabrak of both sub-species and male of female also have other defining traits such as having different skin tones than humans, such as peach white, tan, yellow, red, black and brown, along with that is that they have different eye color pigmentations that Humans lack such as red, violet, yellow, and oranges. They also do not grow facial hair along with eye-brows, eye-lashes. The Zabrak are also known for not just having one heart, but two hearts that work in unison to supply blood to their limbs and major organs. If one heart was affected by arrhythmia, the other heart would fibrillate, which would lead to death quickly if not treated, this is due to the fact the blood flow will stop as both hearts would now be working against each other.

Personality wise…the Zabrak are known to be very independent, single minded due to have a strong sense of self assuredness, high confidence in their own talents and to deal with whatever difficulties they encounter, competitive, and more. As individuals, Zabrak are also known to work hard to excel in every field they venture into, and take a great sense of pride in the achievements of their race and as individuals to the point of arrogance, as warriors and adventurers, they are dedicated, intense, and focused. The Zabrak of the colony world of Iridonia are excellent warriors and are more war-like due to the intense terrain of their chosen world and therefore have a very physical form of martial arts to reflect that situation, and is a requirement for all Zabrak children, whether male or female to learn, thus, they are known to be among the best hand to hand combatants and weapon smiths in the Known Galaxy. All Zabrak from any of their colonies share the same drive for excellence, thus it's not surprising that they are regarded as experts in many fields, ranging from medicine to entertainment as well as warfare and engineering.

It is also known that their race is able to have Force Sensitive offspring and the Zabrak of Iridonia are known to have ancient ties to the Sith Empire as mercenaries. Though there have been those of their race who served as Jedi as well, there were also those who fell to the Dark Side to serve the Sith as warriors and even Sith Lords.

**Echani – **The Echani are a warrior culture who were Near Humans, they were physically similar to base Humans in the Known Galaxy, but were very much different as they had silver hair and silver eyes and had better reflexes than stock humans, they were also more willful and determined, though this was due to their culture of study and hard training rather than any biological or racial aspect.

They were the race that helped give rise to the Sun Guard on the planet Thyrsus, and were known to have a strong rivalry with the Mandalorians, yet another warrior culture…however, the two sides did have noticeable differences. While the Mandalorians relied on brute strength, firepower, and force in their martial arts weapons, armor, and combat style, the Echani favored light weapons, and armor, due to their use of agility, speed, evasion, and precision.

Women played a key role in their society as well as that of the Mandalorians, whose women were trained to be as skilled, tough, resilient, and physically capable as the men of the Mandalorian clans, in order to defend their children and homes while the men were away and if they did not have children to raise…it was not surprising to find the Mandalorian women to be in the front lines along with the men. Thus it is not surprising to find Echani females who can fight as good or even better than the men of their race.

Like the Mandalorians, the Echani had fought with Revan in his time as the Dark Lord of the Sith, but had lost, namely with the death of some of their key Senators and the death of their most talented fighter Yusanis, who had faced Revan in combat. And like the Mandalorians who fought in the Mandalorian wars, they do not hold a grudge against Revan for that as they admired his combat skills.

Due to their culture's ties to combat in every aspect of their lives, many Echani Generals in the Known Galaxy were rumored to have a sixth sense on battles, being able to predict their opponent's next move, this however was due to the fact that in their culture…combat was a form of communication that was far more understandable than hours of dialogue.

Echani culture states that one way to know someone fully, then you must fight them. Thus the martial arts of the Echani was more than for self defense and if needed warfare, but a form of expression, a means of communication similar to art and music

For the Echani, it was not surprising that children born into their race with the same parents to be indistinguishable from the other. This naturally confused many outsiders who first meet the Echani as they cannot tell the differences between siblings of either male or female gender. Thus it is a very essential requirement to be able to tell each other apart through body language and movement in Echani society.

The only break in the rule was the child of Yusanis, Grand Master of the Echani and Arren Kae, Brianna Kae, who had taken the blue eyes of her birth mother and the silver hair of her father.

The Echani were also known to read emotions, feelings, and plans through body movements, especially in combat. To an Echani, combat between two people is a pure form of communication, more effective than hours of dialogue and words. This was proven true as in one instance in Galactic History, the Echani defeated the Maktites who were stunned as their vast stores of thermal weaponry were rendered useless by simple adjustments made by the Echani to their traditional light armor.

Apart from their traditional use of light armor, the Echani had a fondness for vibroswords and the double vibroblades. Their own versions of such weapons were also covered in cortosis weave to allow the weapons withstand lightsabers. They were also known to have specially crafted energy shields to survive in very deadly battles and fire fights, along with other environmental hazards. The weapons that were created by the Echani were the Echani Vibrosword, the Echani Foil, and the Echani Ritual Brand. The first weapons have seen combat on many occasions, with the Vibroswords being super cooled to maintain alignment and give an icy sting to it's foes, while the Ritual brand was a double bladed sword with heated ends that when in the hands of Echani Firedancers made them move in combat as if in a dance.

The Echani martial arts has three tiers of instruction, with the first being the most basic, and with each successful tier, the moves become more powerful complex, and dangerous, the first tier is naturally taught to children and the other two are taught to higher level practitioners.

Another trait that the Echani had (with the exception of the Sun Guard) was the fact that during sparring matches or certain battles, the Echani…both male and female, do not use heavy clothing and were known to fight wearing minimal clothing. This was due to the fact that since their fighting style relied on agility, speed, precision, and evasion, they saw anything that hampered their movements as something to be avoided.

This trait had given the Echani somewhat of a reputation…as since their genders would fight in minimal clothing, and they had different criteria of conversation topics, and naturally they at times would discuss subjects in open willingness that in most human cultures was taboo or considered private, many outsiders have mistaken Echani to have no shame whatsoever…though many of the men who see Echani women fighting in minimal clothing would not mind at all.

--------------

That should do it…I haven't been feeling pretty good so you'll have to forgive me if I haven't updated this one in quite a while.

What will be the reactions of the Ebon Hawk crews when they learn about not just the reason why Revan and Jesse left for the Unknown Regions, but who Ranma is and what happened to him as a child…namely the time he spent with Genma?

On the next chapter, it will detail his training among the members of the Ebon Hawk crews and we'll see just how well Ranma will fare as he is being trained by the Jedi Order…and it won't be just them either.

See you on the next Chapter!


	4. The heart of a Jedi Knight

Ranma / Knights of the Old Republic

Disclaimer: Knights of the Old Republic belongs to Bioware and Knights of the Old Republic 2 The Sith Lords belong to Obsidian Entertainment…while Ranma and all associated characters and media belong to Rumiko Takahasi, thus I have no ownership of any of them.

Chapter 3

The heart of a Jedi Knight

( ): Thoughts

--------------

In one of the meeting halls of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant…

Revan and Jesse were stunned in a way to see the halls bare of the students as the Jedi Order had been spread thin by the years they had been away. The barely small pockets of Jedi were rebuilding slowly as those who survived the Jedi Purges started by the Sith Armada that Revan commanded years before, and by the Sith Triumvirate that was left behind.

The two Jedi Knights were slated to speak first to the Jedi Council to state their gathered information and intelligence regarding the True Sith and the Empire that they were forging deep in the hidden areas of the Unknown Regions that only Revan, Jesse, and the droids had been able to go to in the seven years they had been traveling in. Afterwards, they would then give this information to the Chancellor and the rest of the Republic Senate for them to decide their next course of action regarding the Republic Fleet, and their current forces.

Revan and Jesse, knew that the rest of the Jedi would still view the two of them as renegades of the Order, and they couldn't blame them…they had done a lot of things that had left their marks on them for a long time…but now was hardly the time to undergo such things. Many of the Jedi Masters, Knights, and many other Padawans were killed and the Jedi had to be rebuilt before they could return to their duties to act as protectors of the Republic. Thankfully the Jedi and the Republic was able to get enough breathing room to rebuild themselves. This made Revan happy that Carth, Bastila, Jolee, Juhani, Canderous, Mission, Zaalbar, and Dustil were doing their part to keep the Republic from falling, and the number of slowly growing number of Jedi younglings told them that the efforts of their combined crews were keeping the Republic, the Jedi, the Universe…and the Force alive and safe.

For now however, the two Jedi began to talk in detail with their respective crews together about the events in the Unknown Regions and what they had encountered over there. The others were stunned at the information they had been able to gather, along with the description of just how well trained the True Sith were when it came to their use of the powers of the Dark Side of the Force, and to learn that they were more powerful than the Sith that Revan had commanded during his time as a Sith Lord. The two Jedi Knights then described each world they had been able to travel to and show the dark influence the True Sith had on those worlds that they controlled utterly and what they intended to do with the worlds they had already taken. And to learn that the surviving portion of the corrupted Republic Fleet had aligned with the True Sith made things even worse as the fleet that Revan had formerly commanded and Malak did before his death still had a large number of the manufactured Republic ships that were top of the line designs during the Mandalorian Wars and were still lethal weapons, including the Leviathan and it's sister ships. They however were relieved that Revan and Jesse had been able to do a lot in preventing the Sith from mounting a full attack on the still weakening and rebuilding Republic and the Jedi Order.

The conversation then turned towards Ranma Saotome as the youth was currently sleeping one of the empty dorms in the temple. The dorms were currently unoccupied as many of the former residents were either victims of the wars or had been on the other side of the wars, on the side of the Sith. The youth was currently being guarded by a small band of Jedi Knights assigned to the room by Master Vandar.

Suffice to say…many of the crew were not very happy on what they had learned about Ranma's life, such things did happen on their side of the universe, and cruel things could happen to youngsters like Ranma, and they did at times as well. But to hear that his own father had subjected him to such acts was something none of them were too pleased to hear. Teaching a boy that stealing, lying, cheating, and worse was a game, and using him as a credit stick was totally reprehensible…but it was the six times that Genma had subjected Ranma to the Cat Fist that really got them angry…

Carth was appalled by what he had heard Genma subject his own son to. He knew that while he had not always been able to be with Dustil during his time in the Wars, he had never…in his entire life, treated his son that way. And now he was able to patch things up with his son. To know that Genma treated his only child like he was a meal ticket and a piece of currency made him very angry. He made that fact clear as he stood up and slammed his hands on the table.

"That man's the worst excuse of a father I have ever heard of!"

Revan and Jesse had to admit that Carth's anger was understandable and they could tell that he was not going to be the only person in the room to be angered by what they had heard concerning Ranma Saotome as a child. And their suspicions were true as both Brianna and Bastila voiced their opinions about Genma.

"What that man has done to his own son is totally reprehensible, I am happy that you both were able to stop this madness before it got totally out of hand."

Bastila said with conviction as she felt great sympathy for Ranma as she thought of her own father, who she had never seen after she joined the Order and soon after…made peace with her mother when they met on Tatooine.

"That man is no father…he is nothing but a fool and a cretin for treating a child in such a fashion!"

Brianna said with emotion since despite the shame her father had when he had his affair with her mother Arren Kae years before…he was a loving and brave father to her and her sisters and did his very best for them before he died by Revan's hands when he was still a Sith Lord.

The others also voiced their opinions of shock, anger, distrust, and resentment.

"I'd love nothing more than to stuff that arrogant ass though an open space lock!"

Atton said with anger, while he had been a Sith Assassin and did far worse than Genma did in his own fashion…but even he would not sink as low as to subject a child to such torture.

Mandalore himself tightened his hands, making the gloves on his body armor suit crake a bit.

"In my case…I'd rather shoot him! That man acts in the most dishonorable fashion, and is an insult to the term father."

"First time we ever agreed on something Canderous."

"So it is Carth, so it is."

"Join the club."

Mira replied as she began to imagine just how hard the young boy's life must have been that idiot Genma's care. She had been a slave to the Mandalorians and was then inducted into their ranks, but at least they were decent enough to properly feed her, train her, and more before she lost them.

The others also marked their own anger with Genma as well. Bao-Dur' clenched his arms tightly and muttered curses on Genma. Visas was contemplating how to punish the man for such acts as her own parents had never done that to her before their deaths on Katarr. Mission stated that Genma was even worse than Griff, since despite lying to her and more, Griff had never used her in the way Genma did his own son. Zaalbar also agreed with his companion, he may had been banished by his own father, but there were reasons and they were able to make things right between themselves, Jolee himself was far from happy at what he heard about Genma and considered him to be one of the worst kinds of people. Juhani herself admitted that Genma was a lousy father, a coward, and an embarrassment, she recalled the looks of fear the boy gave her when he saw her walk towards him, and upon learning of the Cat Fist that Genma had subjected Ranma to as a child, she could understand why that was the case. Atris herself was appalled and angered by the harsh treatment the man subjected his only child to. Before she was given responsibility to care for Brianna and her sisters, before her fall, she would never subject them to that kind of treatment until they were able to fend for themselves as be trained to fight, she could only imagine the horrors the young boy must have endured under the man's callous methods.

Revan and Jesse let them speak out their feelings and let them sort it out. Even Master Vandar had to admit that he could understand the reasons of anger the crews of the Ebon Hawk had when they were told by Revan and Jesse just who their charge was and what had happened to him when they found him.

It was when things managed to cool down that Revan and the others began to discuss what they needed to take care of before they got down to dealing with the True Sith, this naturally concerned Ranma as the Jedi in the meeting room had all sensed Ranma's growing potential in the Force. Such sensitivity could prove very helpful when given the proper training and conditioning.

They considered how he had been able to use the Force and realized that if the Sith had found him before Revan and Jesse…then he would have been twisted into a very deadly and dangerous Sith Warrior, or worse. Revan however knew that there would be times that having the power of the Force could be a burden and as such, wanted Revan to not rely heavily on the Force to survive and fight. Jesse knew that as well…for the ten years he had been exiled after his trial on Coruscant, he had survived without the aid of the Force and as such, he knew that anyone can be strong without the Force always guiding them. That much he learned during his exile, and with his time under Revan's first teacher, Kreia.

As the groups managed to discuss what they planned to do before Revan and Jesse would report to the Council their findings on the True Sith and the remains of the Sith Empire that were still there…waiting beyond the Outer Rim, Revan was gestured by Master Vandar along with Jesse. Bastila and Brianna also went with their loved ones as the small group sat aside from the others.

The diminutive Jedi Master stood before the four Jedi as they sat down, as soon as they were seated, Vandar then spoke to Revan.

"You seem to have a plan in mind young Revan, concerning you're young ward, may I know what it is, or will you keep that hidden from me?"

Revan shook his head and spoke back to Vandar with respect and for good reason. He respected and trusted Master Vandar for a very long time and when he regained his full memory, he knew that Vandar, along with Zhar were among those who were reluctant to tamper with his mind after he was saved from death in the ambush years before, and he understood that they only agreed after seeing that they had no other alternative, not that his actions ever gave them one to begin with.

"Of course not Master Vandar."

"That is good to hear young one, now then…what plans do you have concerning young Ranma? I have seen that he is exceptionally gifted with the Force and if I may say so…his potential is growing by the hour. I know that you might plan to have him trained here by the Jedi Order, or by you're fellow Jedi first hand. Either way, you have my blessing on the matter…however, I wish to know what it is you have in mind."

Revan nodded, he had this in mind for a very long time ever since they left the Sol System.

"I want Raman to undergo Jedi Training…but only after he has been trained on how to deal with the Galaxy at large…he is a young man from a world where they have barely left their own planet and seen beyond the solar system. If we were to train him without him learning about other cultures and civilizations, he might misuse his Jedi training and get himself into further danger."

"You brought up a very good point young Revan…and you are right, he is still young and the sooner he learns about other worlds the better, but why not among the Order I ask? Our archives here on Coruscant are vast and could be helpful in teaching young Ranma."

"I know Master Vandar…but you yourself said that the Jedi are not a cloistered Order once, and it is in the real world that we have to prove ourselves to be called Jedi."

Vandar smiled a bit at that.

"Go on."

"I want Ranma to really learn the cultures and civilizations first hand, that way he can know how to act accordingly as a Jedi when he meets other races, Master Vandar…and I want him to choose carefully what he must do so as to avoid making mistakes in the field. The Known Galaxies can be a dangerous place and as long as he is able to learn and grow. This will make sure that he will be better prepared to deal with the Universe and give him options on how address certain problems. The lessons will also allow him to fight and survive in ways…that even Jedi cannot and give him the skills that will be needed to keep him alive…And the lessons he learns first hand will allow him to deal with True Sith…if he ever faces them."

"Hmm…what do you mean by that Revan?"

"Master Vandar…the True Sith are unlike the Sith I founded…the True Sith are not the corrupted Republic troops, Dark Jedi, ships, and droids Malak and I commanded years ago. The Sith is a belief, an ideal that burns in the hearts and souls of those Sith out there in the Unknown Regions. The Dark Side is not a power they use, nor does it corrupt them…it flows in their very veins like blood, and they breath it like it's the very air that sustains them. They hate the Light Side in a way that even frightens me. Their hatred for the Jedi Order is eternal…bred into their very core…as is the Dark Side bred into their very blood. I…met one of them during the Mandalorian Wars…after I went to Malachor 5 before the final battle there. It was horrifying to see someone as immersed in the Dark Side as that being was Master. And I can say that the Jedi Order…as it is now…must become stronger to combat their threat. I am not asking the Jedi Order to compromise itself…I know how that will turn out first hand. I mean that the Jedi must adapt to face their forces when the time comes so it will have a fighting chance to save the Republic and the Known Galaxy."

"I see…and this ties to Ranma Saotome's fate in what way?"

"I was able to see a dream he had…when we found him…I saw him being separated into two beings, a vision of the two paths he can take when the Force awakened inside of him when we found him…one was a Jedi Master, the likes of which I had never seen before, and the other was a dark and brutal Sith Lord of immense power and hatred. I want him to be given the chance to avoid that fate of the Sith Lord, and only be learning from the real world can he truly have what is needed to survive and to make the needed decisions in hard times in order to save others. I know that what I am asking is not part of the training of the Jedi order…"

"That is true…"

"…but I believe that it can be done and it will be for the best. By knowing and seeing the dangers first hand, he will be able to truly grasp what it means to be a Jedi, why you must not fall to the Dark Side, and most of all…to learn how to be stronger without losing what makes you who you are inside. Not to mention it will allow him to tell the difference with the Dark Side and the Light Side. I know that it will be a hard and unorthodox road that I will be placing Ranma on, but it will be for the best."

Vandar considered Revan's words carefully and after some time decided to speak to Revan who naturally waited patiently as best he could on what the answer was of the Jedi Master.

"I will agree to place Ranma under you're personal tutelage Revan…but only on two conditions."

"Name them Master Vandar."

"The first is that when he has gained sufficient knowledge of the Force, then he must be allowed to undergo formal Jedi Training here on Coruscant once he is done. The tenants of the Jedi Code will be needed at some point in his life if he is faced with hard choices…it was you're use of the code that allowed Juhani to restrain her anger when she faced Xor years ago…if you had not reminded her of the code and of the consequences of what could have happened had she slain the Mandalorian Twi'lek in anger…then all of her efforts to finally let go of her past would have been in vain."

"I accept that term Master Vandar, but who will take care of Ranma while he is here on Coruscant?"

"I will personally oversee Ranma's training myself while he is here on Coruscant, and will be his tutor, along with Master Atris, Master Shiss Hadar, and Yuthura Ban as well."

Revan nodded, along with Jesse as well, both Bastila and Brianna also agreed with the idea as well. The Prodigal Knight then wondered what the second term was, and they didn't have to wait very long as Vandar spoke.

"The second term is this…he must not be you're ward, but as you're Padawan, I want you both to be fully aware of that fact when you are training him to be a Jedi Knight in your own fashion. You and the others along with Jesse's comrades will each have a hand in training Ranma in the arts that you deem needed for him. Is that acceptable?"

Revan and Jesse nodded with respect, they all then faced the others and told them of the plans involving Ranma and the need for all of them to give their own fields of expertise to help train Ranma in becoming a member of the Jedi Order. The others were somewhat surprised to take that part of training the young boy. But they knew that it would be for the best.

Revan then turned to Canderous.

"Canderous…I want you to take Ranma in and train him in the ways of the Mandalorians first, once he has proven himself well in the ways of you're people, then I and the others will train him in the other aspects that he will need to learn, I know you're busy with all those matters with the others of you're people but…"

Canderous shook his head and replied to Revan.

"There's no need for you to ask that of me Revan, I'll take full responsibility for the lad myself, though I hope that he's not too dependent on the Force to do his duties once he's one of us once we get to Dxun…when do you want me to take him there?"

"As soon as possible, namely once we're done talking with the Jedi Council on special matters and also with the Chancellor."

With that…Ranma's training was about to begin…

--------------

On Dxun…

"Come on Ranma! Move you're feet! Those supplies are not going to haul themselves back to the base you know!"

Xarga said with authority as he watched the new addition to the clan, one Ranma Saotome by name was hauling out fresh supplies from another cache hidden away by the Mandalorians during the time of Mandalore the Ultimate. The new recruits were busy in training and he was now handed a new lamb to the herd, one Ranma Saotome by name.

The Mandalorian sergeant wondered just where did Mandalore find this young one who came with him on his shuttle only a few days ago. The Mandalorian sergeant was then tasked to sharpen the boy up and get him ready to be inducted into their clan. To be honest…the boy looked so…well, odd. But since it was an order from Mandalore, he couldn't complain, but do his best and see just what was in the boy that sparked Mandalore's interest in training him.

"Yes Sergeant Xarga!"

Ranma grunted as he hauled out the containers filled with various types of supplies such as medical packs, chemicals, components, and more, while sweating in his Mandalorian Combat Suit, with his short sword in the sheath on his back, and his blaster rifle on his shoulder as he hefted the pack with him. The young boy had been spending several days on Dxun, the Demon Moon as the jungle moon was called at times. He had hoped to train as a Jedi Knight, but Revan wanted him to rely on his already existing abilities and talents before he could be trained in the use of the Force.

He had met Canderous and was quite intimidated by the gruff and serious Mandalorian, but he trusted Revan's judgment and agreed to travel with Canderous to Dxun to begin his training in the ways of the Mandalorians. Revan knew that the Mandalorians' ways and methods of war will be needed to make Ranma know that in times of war, you have to make critical decisions that could spell the quick end to a bloody battle, and how dangerous it was to open yourself to attack from merciless foes…he knew that to be true since while the Mandalorians had sided with the Sith more than once…the Sith also despised the Mandalorians and considered them enemies on more than one instance and had also been at war with the Mandalorians. His visions also told him that there will be a part the Mandalorians will play in the future of the Universe soon enough. Plus he wanted Ranma to have a practical and straightforward mindset when the time comes for him to deal with situations were diplomacy and subterfuge may fail…and combat was the only option.

The Earthling found himself moving through the jungle with the rest of his own comrades with him, they too watched the area as they moved back to the camp. It had already been his tenth day here in the Mandalorian Base on Dxun and things were not easy as he had to adapt to the always changing weather on the jungle moon, the training regimes, the heat, the humidity, and naturally the predators. The young Saotome shivered mentally as he recalled meeting the Cannoks, the Maalraas, the Bomas, the Drexl, the Orbalisks, and the most powerful predators on this planet, the Zakkegs. Seeing what the beasts could do to each other and anything they catch told Ranma that the advice that Canderous gave him was true.

"When in Dxun's lands, make sure to shoot anything that moves, then shoot the things that don't move to be sure."

He put that aside as he reached the camp, and thankfully in time and with all the supplies still in his pack. As he dropped the supplies off with Kex, the Mandalorian Quarter Master and one of the Mandalorians that survived the attack on Darth Nihilus' personal ship, the Ravager. Kex looked over them items in Ranma's pack and nodded a bit.

"Go ahead, head for the mess hall and eat up…you've got a training session in three hours."

"Yes sir!"

Ranma then moved to the mess hall that was newly constructed years before and then grabbed his plate and utensils and looked at the menu. Thankfully, the efforts made by Mandalore in getting covert supplies from Onderon proved helpful as the men on Dxun were well fed so Ranma had a very healthy selection of foods to choose from as he took his servings and sat down and ate. The cooks however looked on with shock and so did the other Mandalorians, both veteran and recruit as the young boy ate his food like a ravenous vornskr.

(Where the kriff is he putting all that?!)

Later…

"More Ranma! Keep up the pace!"

Ranma was busy practicing hand to hand combat with another recruit, a senior recruit who was wearing the same kind of Mandalorian Combat Suit as he was and the senior recruit was a lot more skilled than Ranma currently was and got a good number of lumps from his sparring partner.

Ranma was getting tired and it didn't take long for the senior recruit to knock Ranma down with a powerful kick to the left side of his ribs that he was not able to block properly. As he fell down, the senior recruit bowed down and helped Ranma to his feet. As Ranma got up, Xarga was not yet fully impressed as he ordered the two of them to repeat their sparring session.

Ranma once more traded punches and kicks and this time, he timed it right as he blocked powerful right hook aiming for his face, he then moved aside, grabbed the arm and then flipped the senior recruit over his head and tossed him to the ground startling Xarga and the recruit as well.

(Well now, it seems this one has some promise after all.)

Xarga then decided to recommend Ranma to work with Kumus. The Mandalorian proved himself to be a good fighter after a few years and was already proving to be a worthy Mandalorian. Kumus was currently on patrol with several others and as such, Ranma still had plenty of time to train with the others as he sharpened up his skills. Ranma helped his sparring partner up and they once more bowed before Xarga as he gave them the order to continue their training. The two bowed to each other and once more began to trade punches and kicks.

Later…

The clash of blades was heard as the Battle Circle was occupied by several Mandalorians and one particular youngster as he was facing off with a senior Mandalorian and they were both armed with training swords.

Ranma blocked with his sword…barely as the other Mandalorian recruits and veterans looked on as the young boy fought with Davrel. The Mandalorian had proved himself in the battles and managed to evade death and has ever since been highly respectful of the Jedi…namely to Jesse Harvern, he was wondering how skilled Mandalore's new recruit was and as such had asked permission from Bralor to personally test the boy as the High ranking Mandalorian watched on…giving tips and lessons to the struggling but unbowed and defiant trainee.

"Move with the flow of your blade Ranma! Keep the weapon under you're control at all times! Do not and you will lose your life, do you understand?"

"Yes Bralor!"

Ranma moved as best he could as he continued to trade blows with Davrel with their practice swords, he then moved away from a powerful side swing, he ducked and kicked the Mandalorian warrior who was in his armor while he followed up with a stab. Davrel recovered from the kick and then sidestepped the attack and knocked away Ranma's sword. The trainee then went into the combat stance, unmindful of the fact that he was now weaponless. This made the others mutter as Ranma evaded Davrel's attacks and rolled forward and got his sword back.

Bralor nodded as he noted Ranma's will not to give up in a fight, an admirable trait in a warrior and he decided to soon test the young boy more personally.

--------------

A few days later…

"Take careful aim…and fire…"

The jungles of Dxun came alive with the sounds of blaster fire and the roars of a pack of Maalraas as they began to track where the shots came from, the jungle predators were busy feasting on their newest batch of kills, namely Cannoks, the Maalraas were having their fill when several blaster shots hit their group.

Ranma looked from the scope and silently swore at his miss on the targets. He had been assigned on thinning the Maalraas packs that roamed the neighborhood of the Mandalorian base and he was accompanied by none other than Kelborn, Mandalore's second in command, the elite scout watched as his young charge had missed his target of taking out the lead Maalraas, but he didn't get too angry as he allowed Ranma to relax.

The younger man looked at his mentor with a look of disappointment and remorse.

"I'm sorry, I missed sir."

"Don't worry about that…we are hunting a pack after all. Try again."

Ranma nodded as he took a look through the scope of his blaster and took another good aim once more…hoping not to miss.

Later…

"All right Ranma, set those mines properly to they blow up exactly when you need them too, the last thing you want is to mess up and get you're hands blown off."

Ranma nodded as he intently began to place down the live mines that he had been handed by Kex who was taking some time off from his duties as Quarter Master to teach the young Mandalorian how to handle explosives and other deadly ordinance. He also took the responsibility on teaching Ranma how to make mines, grenades, and other items such as medical items, stimulants, and implants from chemicals and components. The young man still wore his Mandalorian Combat Suit

As Ranma set up the mines, he moved away with Kex as both of them took up their blasters as a pack of Maalraas came sniffing about and then the beasts charged at the two Mandalorians, the mines did their work and the explosions took out the Maalraas pack well, allowing Kex to rate Ranma's performance as still needing some extra work.

Later…

"All right…that should take care of the coolant, Ranma…hand me that hydro-spanner and fix the forward field generators like I told you."

Zuka said as he and Ranma were busy instituting repairs on one of the newly recovered Basilisk War Droids and the young man was learning how to repair ships and vehicles. The Basilisk was one particular example that Zuka was working on and Ranma, being the young one under his command became his assistant in repairing the latest addition to the Mandalorian arsenal.

"Yes Zuka."

Ranma went to work while the Mandalorian tech specialist went to work using the hydro-spanner and then watched his apprentice's progress, he had to admit that when shown how to do things, Ranma quickly picked up the pace and got things done and that was certainly going to help.

As soon as they were done with today's lesson in repairs, Zuka then showed Ranma how to make basic weapons, armor and tools with components on the work bench, he stressed to his young charge that knowing such things could certainly help him in the long run as he could assemble things that could prove helpful, and disassemble things that couldn't be used to make new tools that were of a better use as well.

--------------

As the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, Ranma began to get used to the Mandalorian way of life and their lessons that they were imparting into him for the many tasks that he would soon need to do, and while it was a harsh life that he was leading, it was far from boring as he was still busy working on gathering the supplies that were left behind by the Mandalorians in the past. He also learned new forms of martial arts and hand to hand combat that truly showed their effectiveness in the many sparring matches and trials in the battle circle. The young man was beginning to get used to the training and several more tests, including the use of explosives, blasters, blaster rifles, vibroswords, vibroblades, and other weapons as well.

Ranma had to struggle to prove himself to not just his various trainers such as Zuka, Kex, Xarga, Kelborn, and Bralor, but to also his fellow recruits and the senior Mandalorians. The senior Mandalorians were still not entirely convinced that Ranma would be able to reach their level, but they were not against him from training as hard as he did since they could tell that he wanted to prove himself. As time passed, many of those who detracted Ranma had to admit that his sheer will and his ability to learn quickly made him a very talented person. However not all things were smooth sailing since Ranma did have his faults.

One such fault was his chauvinism that was no doubt due to Genma's on him when he was still very young and that was the one thing which got him into trouble with his fellow Mandalorians more than once…namely the female Mandalorians. The clans had grown for the past few years as there were female Mandalorians who found their way to Dxun, along with several of the veteran Mandalorians marrying at some point in their lives…and the women they married were very much supportive of the Mandalorian way of life and were already inducted into the Mandalorians. Ranma still thought women were weaker than man and that got him into more than one fight with some of the Mandalorian women.

Ranma soon learned that the Mandalorian saying about raising sons and daughters was very much true…as several of the women who he had called weak were more than happy to beat him to a pulp at his open mouth. One such woman was Bralor's own daughter Valeena who Ranma had called weak and she then replied by smiling and challenging him to a match in the Battle Circle…he thought he could handle himself just fine.

He got his just reward as he was knocked out of the battle circle not once…but seven times. The female Mandalorian was only three years older than Ranma, she had blonde/platinum hair and deep blue eyes and was slightly taller than Ranma, but there was no doubt that she was better trained than Ranma was since she was born into this life and was already well trained and versed in the ways of her family. The saying that Ranma didn't understand at first, but now knew to be true.

It was the saying that went on the lines of 'Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya' or in Galactic Basic was known to mean. 'Train your sons to be strong but your daughters to be stronger.'

And Bralor did an excellent job at training his daughter to be stronger. As he recovered from his last thrashing, Ranma decided to swallow his pride and accept help from Valeena who helped him to his feet and he decided to be a little bit more careful about his words around the women of the Mandalorians. The thrashing he got from Valeena was just the first as he still couldn't help but keep that frame of mind…showing that while Nodoka had tried to remove such things from her son, it still lingered…however, it didn't take long for Ranma to wise up and begin to respect women…and not just Mandalorian women as well as he recalled that he still had to train with the other female members of the crew of the Ebon Hawk who served under Revan and the crew who served under Jesse.

--------------

Ranma at age 8…

"Nicely done…keep you're guard up and move to avoid being caught up in the blow…aim for the right body zones!"

Bralor shouted as he watched Ranma practice with a Long-sword in one hand and Short-sword in the other as he spared with Davrel who was armed with a Double Bladed Sword. The other Mandalorians watched and saw that the boy was working even harder for the past few months as he and Davrel traded blows with one another as their weapons clashed and sparks filled the air. Davrel launched out a stab which Ranma blocked with his Long-sword and then reversed his grip on the Shortsword and followed up with a slash to the neck of Davrel's Mandalorian Armor. The Mandalorian dodged the move and struck with a reverse strike with the other blade, Ranma ducked the attack and then followed with a kick to Davrel's stomach as the Mandalorian moved in. Davrel moved back and lashed out with a kick of his own, Ranma managed to block it and lash out with a slash to the head helmet, Davrel blocked the attack but had to admit that Ranma was getting better at the fighting with blades as they continued their sparring match as Bralor and Valeena watched the fight…along with several other members of the Mandalorians, including Kex, Kelborn, and Zuka.

Later…

Kex watched as Ranma began making his first batch of grenades from the chemicals on the lab station and did well enough in making them so they didn't explode until he used them, he walked over to Ranma and the young boy allowed the Mandalorian to inspect his work and the Mandalorian showed him how to correct the fuses and primers of his newly made frag grenades.

Kex then directed to Ranma to the throwing range where the Mandalorians practiced their ability to throw grenades and as Ranma was being taught the best trajectories and angles in order to maximize his throw, the young boy began to show improvement as Kex decided to see that on their next batch of lessons, Ranma would then be taught how to make more powerful mines and explosives, along with basic medical kits and stimulants.

Later…

Zuka nodded as Ranma placed the last finishing touches on his first Field Survival Pistol, using the components to make the weapon properly and he then began to make the needed upgrades to the weapon that he had already made.

"Nicely done Ranma…nicely done, once you're finished with that, I want you to make your own sword and with the right upgrades."

"Yes sir!"

As Ranma finished the upgrades for the scope, power cell, and barrel chamber for the survival blaster and made sure that everything fit the required specifics, he then directed his attention to his own sword. He began to assemble the Long-sword carefully, making the handle and then the edge, and he then upgraded the weapon as well. For the grip he decided to use the components to make the grip an Agrinium Grip, a basic version for slashing. And for the edge he crafted a Basic Mullinine Edge…the Agrinium Grip was made for improved slashing attacks…while Mullinine was an ideal alloy for melee weapons due to it's weight and keen edge for slashing.

As he assembled the new Long-sword, he tested the weapon with a few slashing motions and used his mother's training with the Japanese Katana and found the weapon to be a good one to make. Zuka took the weapon and tested it himself and nodded in satisfaction with his apprentice's work.

"Nicely done Ranma…now let's test these toys of yours in the field."

Hours later…

Kelborn watched as Ranma looked through the scope of his blaster rifle as he took careful aim at the band of Maalraas heading their way, the young boy was improving as he began to fire the blaster rifle once more…months before, the younger child would waste several blaster bolts in trying to take down a charging Maalraas, this time he was using far less energy and at least hit the Maalraas that was heading their way with better accuracy. Though he still needed to work on the speed of his shots.

Ranma cursed himself a bit as one of his blaster bolts missed the target as the Maalraas kept coming, it was wounded but not dead, and he was not in the mood to fight the wounded beast head on, he took another careful aim and fired one bolt at the head and managed to get a clean hit as the Maalraas hit the floor.

Kelborn nodded and got Ranma to check the body of his slain foe so they could determine where he went wrong with his first volley of shots. The Mandalorian planned to show Ranma that wasting ammunition was a fool's plan and wasteful as well, just enough shots to kill or cripple the target was far more practical and economical in the long run.

As they studied the corpse, Ranma wrinkled his nose at the smell of the creature but put those thoughts aside as he and the Mandalorian scout studied the wounds of the creature as Kelborn began to explain to Ranma his mistakes and what he could fix in the next hunting mission.

As they headed back…Ranma headed for the mess halls, while Kelborn went to the Command bunker to give his latest report on Ranma's progress to Mandalore…along with his report was Kex's, Bralor's, Zuka's, Kumus's, Davrel's, and Xarga's as well, he smiled as he gave the reports to Mandalore and his leader nodded in appreciation for the information that he was giving him.

Ranma however was busy eating his fill of dinner, and drank his own drink while chatting with his fellow recruits and some of the senior Mandalorians. He listened to their stories and also met Valeena and Kelborn's own daughter Freyna, the slightly older Mandalorian girl was just as tough as her friend Valeena, befitting her status as both a Mandalorian and Kelborn's daughter. As he spoke to them…he kept in mind to be highly respectful towards them since they were also more than able to beat the snot out of him if he tried to say that women were weaker.

--------------

Ranma at age 9…

Bralor smiled underneath his helmet as Ranma traded blows once more with Davrel as the Mandalorian was fighting now with fists and feet with the young man. Valeena was there as well to witness the training as Ranma began to push himself harder and stronger than the other trainees. He was currently fighting with some of the techniques Bralor had taught him personally, along with the training he got from Xarga as the Mandalorian Sergeant continued to watch his student's progress, along with the other Mandalorians.

He and Bralor had to admit that Ranma picked up skills with a speed that they found interesting as they had taught him skills that not many of the other recruits were aware of. The other recruits were also teaching Ranma of other tricks and techniques that he could apply in the rest of his training regime as he continued to trade punches with Davrel.

Later…

Kumus and Ranma went on another salvaging mission as the senior Mandalorian and the still young apprentice were busy moving ahead, as soon as they arrived at a possible cache location, they got to work as Kumus took out his survival pack and got out the explosives.

"Ranma…you know the drill, form a defensive perimeter while I set the charges."

"Understood!"

As Kumus set the charges, Ranma took out his Mandalorian Assault Rifle and kept his eyes open at the jungles around them to make sure no Boma, Maalraas, or Cannok got the drop on him and his senior and friend. Kumus noted the intense and serious look on his friend's face and smiled at that as he finished with the charges and gave the signal to move out.

A few minutes later…and fighting off a band of Maalraas that came on the scene, the two entered the hidden cache and smiled at the haul they had just found. Ranma reached his communicator and contacted Xarga who commended both him and Kumus for finding the cache.

Hours later…

Ranma smiled as he sat down on the ground and felt his stomach feel full after lunch and he decided to listen to Bralor's lessons on Melee combat, along with tactics and strategy in ship to ship warfare and boarding tactics.

As soon as he was done and he felt ready, he took out his Long-sword and sparred with the former Battle Circle Champion as his mentor began to teach him new moves and methods while Bralor was armed with a Force Pike, Ranma moved and dodged as best he could and his skills were already showing as more recruits and seniors gave him positive comments on his performance with the Long-sword.

As the two continued to spar, Bralor nodded at Ranma's progress and decided to stop the match and pit Ranma against someone from the other Mandalorians, he was then pitted against Valeena as he placed aside his Long-sword and took out another weapon, namely a Double Bladed Sword, while Valeena took her father's Force Pike…he was careful as they circled each other…no doubt recalling the time Valeena had given him a very thorough thrashing for his big mouth.

The two bowed and began to trade blows with one another, and Ranma decided to place all of his skill to the fore as Valeena was toying with him as she dodged and blocked each of his attacks with the same skill and ability that got him with a mess of bruises. He however learned his lessons and realized that Mandalorians might taunt their foes, but they had the muscles and power to back up the jests too.

The two moved on with their attacks as Bralor watched in interest as his daughter and his protégé and student were busy testing and probing each other's defenses and testing each other's response…a far outcry from the first time they had first fought with one another. This was getting interesting as instead of taunting his daughter, Ranma was focused on her movements and attacks…as he knew that Ranma now realized that he could not take any female foe lightly unless he knew their skill level.

Valeena smiled a bit at the change Ranma was in…this fight was getting interesting indeed as they traded swing and thrust, block, parry and stab at each other. As they moved and attacked one another with quick yet patient motions, Ranma recalled all of his lessons and managed to dodge the next stab from the Force Pike and then lashed out with a powerful kick to Valeena's side. The Mandalorian woman dodged the attack, but Ranma then struck as he charged in and knocked the Force Pike upwards with his Double Blade Sword and managed to finally score a direct hit on Valeena with a rabbit punch to the throat and disorient the Mandalorian woman for him to knock her down with a sweep kick

Valeena grinned instead of being angry and Ranma smiled back…not in an arrogant way as he helped Valeena to her feet.

--------------

As the years passed by…Revan and Jesse would come and see the performance of their young Padawan and Canderous told them how proud he was to have Ranma as a student and as an adopted son of Mandalore…though he was now reaching the time to be formally welcome among the Mandalorians.

--------------

Ranma at age 13…

Ranma was now ready to take his final trial…His performance for nearly 13 years among the Mandalorians was great and was worthy of great respect as his trainors were all proud of his achievements. His performance had made his former detractors become his friends and in the final months of his years long training... his squad did their best and many respected him from being a weak scrawny boy, to a tough and strong lad of the ripe age of Mandalorian manhood. 

Thirteen year old Ranma smiled as he finally wore his own Mandalorian Armor suit, he didn't mind still using the blue scheme of the lower ranking Mandalorian recruits, it reminded him of his struggles as a non-Mandalorian, and this was a gift from Canderous also and was made from proper Mandalorian Iron.

He walked into the battle circle and stood there, surrounded by all the gathered Mandalorians and Canderous gave him the tattoo of Clan Ordo on his neck, a small but symbolic tattoo. As Ranma didn't flinch the slightest from the pain, he saw the Mandalorians nod respectfully to him.

Canderous, Zuka, Kex, Xarga, Kelborn, and Bralor all nodded with approval at Ranma and Mandalore clapped him in the shoulder and replied. 

"Welcome into the Clans...Son of Mandalore!!" 

The base of the Mandalorians cried out in cheer, as both male and female Mandalorians cheered for Ranma as he was formally inducted into the Clans as one of their own.

Now it was time for him to be trained in the ways of the Jedi Order…

--------------

Dantooine… 

Ranma began to train once more in the Basic forms of the Force. Many of the Jedi from the crews of the Ebon Hawk were in Dantooine to train him in their respective arts, and the leaders were none other than Revan, Jesse, and Master Vandar. They worked hard to test Ranma's potential with various exercises. 

Ranma was now learning the methods to move objects with the Force while the others watched his progress. Though he had done it before back on Earth…things were very different this time around as the objects were not only different but were unique in every fashion. 

--------------

Ranma began to move with his training sword and did use some of his mother's techniques in sword-play along with the lessons imparted to him by the Mandalorians. This would help him relax and later, he sparred with Revan, who was VERY talented with a metal sword apart from the lightsaber. Ranma began to learn how to use the fighting styles of the Jedi with the sword in preparation for the use of his first training saber.

Revan had to admit that the boy had talent as he clashed blades with him in training, they had to train him with blades first and also with the basics of Force before moving on to the next levels. Jesse also tested Ranma as he crossed blades with the boy using his mastery of Jar'Kai. 

-------------- 

Ranma ran through the winding passes and plains of Dantooine as he carried a large amount of weight and even on his body and legs, his training from Dxun helped, and now he was using the Force run from one point to the next, while the main user of the technique, Mira watched him...while running beside him.

Once they stopped, Ranma dropped his weights and drew his training sword and crossed blades with Mira as they both used the Force to increase their attack speed and defensive speed, both Jedi and Padawan moving with blinding speed, Mira however, having trained longer was able to defeat Ranma, but he was not giving up as both of them ran back to the Academy.

Ranma then trained with Brianna in the Echani martial arts, which build on speed, grace, power, and accuracy. The Echani trained him well and restrained the removal of clothes to test Ranma as both she and him wore armor. After several days of learning Echani hand to hand combat, Ranma now crossed double blades with Brianna as she used her father's double blade. The sounds of spinning blades filled the room as the others watched him and Brianna spar.

-------------- 

Ranma continued his training, this time with Juhani, Visas, and Atton. Atton taught him how to make mental barriers to shield his mind from any probe done by Sith or by the enemies he will face. With Visas, Ranma learned basic methods in using Force Sight from the stronger Miraluka, and from Juhani, he learned how to use the Force to become invisible when not armed with a Stealth Generator. All three Jedi also taught him their styles.

Visas taught Ranma her own version of Jar'Kai, which also infused Soresu, from Atton, he took the learning of Ataru, that Atton used well with his use of a single sword, Ranma had a bit of difficulty matching the Jedi Sentinel, but was doing well enough, Juhani also fought with her own version of Djem So and combined it with her skills and heritage as a Cathar...sparring with her made Ranma lose any traces of the Neko Ken to be sure and the friendship between the Cathar and Ranma grew.

Jolee also took a hand in training the boy by showing him tricks on how to use the power of persuasion on the minds of others, to cloud their perceptions and to make them feel confused, along with how to use the Force to bypass droids and sensors. His skills in Shii-Cho was also one thing the old man imparted on Ranma along with how to make medical kits from herbs and chemicals more effectively.

Atris taught him the unique arts of healing and curing through the Force of minor to moderate wounds, she also taught him techniques in curing and resisting certain poisons that would be used by their enemies and by wild creatures.

Master Vandar even got involved and told him how to use the Force to replenish the vitality of wounded and unconscious comrades.

Dustil even had a hand and taught Ranma lighter versions of Sith combat methods and moves, allowing the boy to learn the methods of the enemy. 

Of course, the Jedi were not the only ones.

--------------

Carth took a hand into the training and showed him how to fight with two blasters in hand, which had made Carth famous as a dual gunner in the Republic, despite his age, the Admiral never lost his skills with his trademark blasters, and Ranma began to grasp it the same way he was mastering Jar'Kai.

Mission also taught Ranma the methods on how to spot suspicious characters, how to slice security locks, bypass computer security grids, how to look harmless while gathering valuable data and many more, including how avoid being seen with a Stealth Generator.

Zaalbar also imparted the training of Wookiee combat and through that, Ranma also learned how to make more potent grenades and other tools of the scout's trade.

Even the droids were in on the act, HK-47 teaching Ranma all the languages it had learned over the years as an assassin, along with assassination methods and techniques. T3 showed him how to bypass harder security locks and computers, even how to interpret data as it streamed in from a monitor at high speed. 

--------------

Ranma at age 15

Ranma was now getting the hang of learning several more Force techniques, namely Force Aura, Force Valor, along with Energy Resistance, Force Barrier and Force Resistance from two other teachers, Bastila and Bao-Dur respectively.

The training for each was harsh in some ways, but highly rewarding as Ranma could now improve his physical abilities and defensive skills at a higher degree from Bastila, who was like a mother to him, as was Brianna, as she imparted her own version of the Niman technique to him.

From his Zabrak teacher he gained the skill to withstand fire, electricity, sonic, energy, bludgeoning, piercing and slashing attacks, along with resistances to certain Force Powers. From his teacher he also gained an intimate knowledge of personnel shields and their construction, and he gained Bao-Dur's version of Makashi from his mentor. 

--------------

Ranma had now received his training saber and quickly began to train with it as best he could, right now he was at a large river, leaping from rock to rock, igniting his light saber to slash at moving targets released by Revan and the others for him to hit, he did so using his mother's teaching in Eshin-ryu that he had been working hard on. In the process, he practiced with his Force Powers and continued to learn on the fly.

Revan and the others watched his progress with warm smiles as they sensed his growth in not just combat and the Force, but his maturity and nature as well, he was not very patient and arrogant before, but the training was paying off.

Revan and Jesse then planned the rest of his training, not just in the Jedi arts and that of the Mandalorian ways, but others as well..Ranma was about to visit other worlds and learn other cultures...after all, nothing would be learned in just four walls. 

--------------

Ranma was now learning the methods on making his own lightsaber or in this case, his personal pair of lightsabers, he had gained a great deal of proficiency that he decided to learn BOTH Dueling and Jar'Kai, a rare feat by Jedi standards and due to that, he had to make his own unique form of light-sabers.

He then decided to go to the crystal caverns and gain the crystals he needed to make the lightsabers' colors and characteristics.

A few days later, he found some new crystals and much to his amazement, he found a pair of crystals that were the same as the one Jesse wielded, but were in a pair. Jesse smiled and taught him the value of the crystals since they grew in power as he grew in the Force.

Once that was over, he began to train with his sabers and learned the basic Lightsaber forms and then used the variations he learned in his sessions and applied the methods he learned in his time in the Mandalorian Clans. 

2 months later... 

Ranma wondered what he was going to learn now...but it seemed that the Jedi and the others had other plans as they told him that he was about to spend a year or so learning the softer side of life and learn culture as well and then he would resume his training, he was now nine and going to reach his teenage years as he boarded the Ebon Hawk to see the rest of the Galactic Republic. 

-------------- 

On Nar Shaddaa…

Ranma sighed as he had some caffe with Atton as he and the Jedi Sentinel were exploring the slowly changing side of Nar Shaddaa as they looked in the back alley ways to look for safe locations to camp out. Nar Shaddaa...being the Smuggler's Moon was also famous not just for crime but it's Red Sector District, in which Atton had dragged the near teen to. The former scoundrel did so to loosen the young man up...plus he HAD asked permission from both Revan and Jesse, and the two friends nodded and let him go ahead with smirks of their own. He however had to keep an eye on Ranma.

"Hey there cutie...care to keep me company?"

A human woman with blonde hair and green eyes said in a sultry tone as she smiled at Ranma warmly... making Ranma blush as the well formed woman winked at his cute appearance...plus the fact that the woman was garbed in a Dancer's outfit certainly made him nervous as the woman's figure was barely covered in the essentials.

Atton smirked as several more humans, humanoids, and some alien species converged on Ranma who teased him, The boy's innocent charm and good looks, plus his well defined form after two years of intense training had made him muscular and well formed, it made sense that many females found him to be rather attractive, even as a young teen. He was well behaved and that made the ladies smile that a kid could be well built and be a nice lad. 

On Onderon... 

Ranma had a lot of fun traveling to the city of Iziz and did some shopping to get food, while being accompanied by Bao-Dur, Jesse, Mira, Revan, Bastila and Brianna. They had seen Iziz rebuilt and things had been more stable and they were guests as they were led to the Royal Palace to meet Queen Talia. There also was Yuthura Ban who greeted both Revan and Bastila with a warm smile and said hello to Ranma, she was delighted to meet the lad and so was Queen Talia, who allowed Ranma to come and go around Iziz under a good and secret escort.

He was there to witness many festivals of the Onderonians and took some time to learn this world's history, and even learned to speak the still used Onderonians tongue.

On Coruscant...

Ranma was awed by the Core World Capital of the Republic as he gazed at the vast city world, the place was well maintained and ran smoothly. He spent his time in the company of Bastila, Atris, Visas, Bao-Dur, Jolee, Dustil, Mission and Carth while they showed him the sights. He visited the Senate, the Library, and naturally the Jedi Temple and sparred with some of the Masters and Knights, and even had a fun time being with the many younglings that were now rebuilding the Order.

On Alderaan...

Ranma loved the beauty of Alderaan as he gazed at the vast plains, grass-lands, oceans, and more natural wonders. There in the planet, he was accompanied by Yuthura Ban, Vandar, Revan, Bastila, Atris and Mira. There Ranma began to learn about art, poetry, diplomacy, education, and cooking. Ranma had learned much from Alderaan and that planet was closest to his heart, and the idea of any harm coming to it's people by the Sith or any force made Ranma swear two things, to fight the Dark Side...and never give into it.

On Talravin...

Ranma looked at the vast world that Bastila had grown up in as he was there with Revan, Bastila, Helena, Jesse, and Brianna...for Bastila's first child. Revan had been gone for too long so naturally...one thing led to another three years before when Ranma was still training and now Revan and Bastila wanted to show their new born child their world.

Ranma became the big brother of the new born baby, a girl, and also to Jesse and Brianna's own child.

On Telos...

Ranma spent time with Carth's family, which now included none other than Mission Onasi, Dustil and Carth himself, along with Atton, Bao-Dur, Revan, and Visas. Ranma took the time to learn also from Chodo Habat about the restoration of worlds and learned there on how to feel the Force.

One month on Naboo... 

Ranma saw the world of Naboo...home of Jesse and where Jesse and Brianna had gone to when they were not training Ranma. He admired the world and saw many of the different species, both Gungans and humans, and he had made some friendships with the families he met with.

On Zeltros...

Ranma was blushing to the roots of his hair as he was greeted by the females on the planet...and now he knew WHY the Zeltrons were famous as pleasure seekers. He had been around the place and well, the women were rather open in what they did and how they dressed, and since he had met some Zeltrons on Nar Shaddaa, he thought he could handle it...boy was he wrong. Canderous, and Bralor were smirking as their boy was being fawned over by many of the females who loved his appearance...for a human. 

--------------

Dantooine...

Ranma had several more years left as he returned to his Jedi training, still perfecting his skills in the Force and the ways of the Jedi. he then took up to learn more and more techniques and methods from all his teachers, He then began to return back into the routine of being a Jedi.

Brianna nodded as Ranma began to quickly pick up the pace as she and him sparred in the Echani martial arts, and he was getting faster, in her mind, she had no doubt that out all the men who could have great potential, he was reaching the level of her father Yusanis, even if he wasn't an Echani by blood. He passed the first tiers and was now ready to reach the master levels. His abilities with the double blade were also getting better and faster.

Visas nodded as Ranma's abilities in using Force Sight was improving greatly as time passed, his abilities to detect liars through the Force technique were great and even when she had been able to hide her Force aura very effectively, Ranma seemed to find a way to sense her. Granted he had to work hard to do that, but he was improving well. He also picked up some more tricks from her along with Juhani on how to stay out of sight with the Force, and with a stealth generator.

Mira nodded as Ranma passed the mine field...she had made sure that he get enough training on how to jam the sensory systems used by mines to bypass mine fields. That was a trait that she perfected in a lot of ways due to her intimate knowledge of mines in her younger days as both a Mandalorian and a Bounty Hunter. His training in her preferred Force Powers were also good and his training on how to track people through the Force was also improving.

Atton nodded as Ranma was able to block his attempts to probe the teen's mind. The Jedi admitted that Ranma may not have completely mastered the mental blocking methods he himself made, but he certainly got points in the effort department. His ability was still young and the former Scoundrel wondered about the possible outcome once Ranma was done with his training, and that was something he hoped to see soon.

Bao-Dur nodded as Ranma made a new energy shield with the parts he had given the teen. He also noted that Ranma's ability to make his own weapons and armor, along with upgrades were good, apparently his training was paying off very well as he was now on the way to making his own Ryyk Blade and Disruptor Rifle. The engineer was happy that his training in the use of machines was doing well. 

Atris was also happy as Ranma learned how effectively use the Force to heal his wounds and that of others in training, along with learning how to use the Force to counter toxins and poisons, both liquid and gas.

Vandar was also happy to note the boy's progress in using the Force bring back vitality and strength to those wounded or unconscious after battles. 

Jolee watched Ranma as the boy continued to improve his abilities in balancing the powers of both the Light and the Dark Sides of the Force. The old man had to admit the boy did have great promise and was happy that Revan found him before the Sith did. He even helped Ranma improve some aspects of his mental shielding to protect his mind further from the Sith using the Force.

Juhani watched Ranma grow in her own forms of training, and the boy was no longer afraid of cats, due to his training in the Force. And that made things all right between the young Padawan, and the Cathar Jedi.

-------------- 

Finally… 

Sixteen year old Ranma Saotome looked out into the open sky as he was dressed in his robes as a full fledged Jedi in the Temple on Rakata Prime, the former planet where the Star Forge would be found. He had culminated all of his years of training in the Temple with Revan and Jesse, along with all the crew. Revan had the temple cleared of the Dark Side and used it like he did before as Dark Lord, it was no longer a training ground for Sith however, it was now a training place for Jedi, and Ranma was it's first graduate, all that he had learned was now expanded by Revan and Jesse, along with their friends and loved ones.

Carth had supplies and equipment brought into the temple and that was what they needed. Naturally the rest of the planet was Ranma's training ground as the Temple and the Elder villages were not touched by the Dark Side...the rest of the world was filled with it, and Revan knew that this would be the best place to test Ranma...

The world was filled with many creatures, namely adolescent and full grown Rancors, and Ranma used all he had learned in both Dxun and Dantooine along with other methods to survive in Rakata Prime, along with resisting the pull of the Dark Side when he would go on his training regimes, He was accompanied by his friends and allies, and he also ventured alone to test himself. He had endured massive battles with different beasts and other creatures, and even at times went on missions with the Ebon Hawk to hunt the Sith and expose their networks in the Republic... and now the time of training was over. 

He was now a Jedi...albeit a unusual kind of Jedi.

As he stood there, with his trade-mark blue and silver lightsabers on his belt, his trusty Echani Vibrosword on his back, and both his modified Mandalorian heavy blasters on his belt as well, turned and looked to see all his friends in the Jedi Order, come towards him and surround him. They then drew out their light sabers, with Revan, Jesse, and Vandar at the front of the circle, facing Ranma, while the others were around the teen. He too took out his light-sabers and chanted the Jedi Code with subtle differences made by Revan and Jesse and approved by Vandar since he could feel the strength of will it gave Revan and his friends...and his wife Bastila.

Carth, Canderous, Mission, Zaalbar, HK, and T3 were there as well, along with Bralor, Kex, Xarga, Zuka, and Kelborn, along with several of Ranma's other Mandalorian friends, Tagren, Kumus, and Davrel. There were even friends he had made among Carth's old crew in his days as a Captain... They were the only non-Jedi in the whole bunch.

Ranma felt the Force auras of all his teachers reach out to him and made him feel whole...and his own aura responding in kind to the feelings of respect, trust, understanding, compassion, emotion, knowledge, learning, courage, and faith that he felt from them. His own Force aura had grown in the span of ten years, and now he was ready to step into the new world, to defend it and all who live in it.

As the sun glowed over the Temple roof, the ceremony was over and as the light shined on the group, in the middle of the circle didn't stand Ranma Saotome of Earth, the one that had an uncertain life anymore...

But Ranma Saotome...a Jedi Knight with a purpose. 

--------------

To be continued…

--------------

Author's Notes:

I decided to get rid of the KOTOR Terms section and finish what I can as best as I can manage. So far I hope that the work was worth it…I've been having some problems lately with the computer…a few bugs here and there.

Along with some family planning for the New Year celebrations coming up in the next few days. I'll be posting whatever I can so hang on as we now head off to Earth Ranma makes his way home after a long absence.

What will he find when he gets home…or will he get sidetracked along the way, namely to a certain village?


	5. Return Home

Ranma / Knights of the Old Republic

Disclaimer: I don't own Knights of the Old Republic or Ranma so don't bother me with the details.

Chapter 4

Return Home

( ): Thoughts

--------------

The Sol System... 

A massive tear in the fabric of space-time appeared and out of it came a medium class vessel, the same size as the Ebon Hawk, but had different markings and a blue, silver, and brown color. In the cockpit was a lone human, a teen who appeared to be eighteen years of age by human standards. He then punched the codes and went to the Refresher unit in his ship... 

The _Ghost Warrior _

Ranma took off his upper robes and cleaned his face with some water. The boy who left Earth was gone, replaced by a handsome youth with exceptional physical strength an training, as evidenced by his form, a cross between soldier, scout, and spy, the best of all three worlds...so it was hardly surprising that he would be hard to resist by women, and most men would have been envious as hell...in the Republic and the Outer reaches of the Known Galaxy...he didn't know how he would be treated when he got back to the world of his birth. 

He smiled as he looked at the main hold's image projector as he gazed at his home planet, the world he had not set foot on in twelve years. He was only a few hours away from reaching his world so he might as well check on his ship. 

The _Ghost Warrior _was assembled in the ship-yards of Corellia, the system famous for the best ship yards and designers in the Republic. The Ebon Hawk was naturally the blue-print for the ship he personally owned, but it had some improvements. Better shielding, reinforced plating, improved hyperdrive engines, a stealth system, improved gun turrets, navigation systems, larger quarters, improved cargo spaces, communications, and more. Revan, Jesse and the others were more than happy to pitch in credits and supplies for the ship and this was the result. The ship could house a small platoon in Spartan but suitable accommodations and had improved systems, along with the food dispensers and good stocks of supplies, including food and drink...speaking of supplies. 

Ranma was still wearing his upgraded Jedi Knight robes, armed with a very effective bio-restorative underlay to cure wounds of minor to slightly moderate nature. This was his robe of traveling choice and was in the normal hues associated with the Jedi Order, though the imbedded light ballistic plating showed otherwise as well. He then entered his stock room on the ship...where he stored his weapons and gear. 

In the first cargo hold were containers and compartments that revealed themselves to be storing a LOT of gear. 

Stacks of medpacs, advanced medpacs, antidote kits, life support packs, kolto bags, adrenal stimulants, hyper adrenal stimulants, battle-stimulants, construction kits, repair kits, advanced repair kits were on one side. 

Stacks of implants, from low level to Level D class implants were also onboard. 

Piles of computer spikes, repair parts, security tunnelers were also present in crates. 

Racks of blaster rifles were also present, and of all makes, from normal Advanced mining laser types, to repeater rifles of ALL kinds and designs, carbines of ALL makes, disruptor rifles and carbines, anti droid disruptors rifles, and carbines were also present, sonic weapons were also onboard, along with anti riot rifles, ion rifles and carbines were also present, plasma projectors were also stored, bow-casters were also onboard...practically EVERY rifle in the Known worlds and some from Wild Space were here. 

Racks of blaster pistols were also present, heavy blasters and normal blasters of all designs from Republic, Mandalorian, Bothan, Systech, Zabrak, Dashade, and Aratech designs were onboard, there were even Micro-pulse blasters along with ion blasters, sonic blasters, and Mandalorian Rippers. 

Piles of well stored grenades were also onboard, from frags, to adhesive, concussion, sonic, plasma, cryoban, ion, detonators, poison, and even the most feared pair, thorium charges and thermal detonators were present. 

Stocks of mines were also there as well, from minor to devastating, and they were all in variety too...from frag, plasma, flash, gas, and sonic. 

Stacks of various melee weapons were also present, from normal to advanced swords of various origins, to vibroblades and vibroswords of ALL makes were stacked nearby, along with Vibro-double blades, stunners, staves, pikes, Gammorean War Axes, and more were also in neat rows and handles, all of them clean and RAZOR SHARP. 

Lightsabers were also present, from the normal single hilt, to double bladed, and short hilted were also stocked in another side. 

Armor was also present... 

Containers of light armor, ranging from normal combat suits to high grade ones were also present. Ranging from Mandalorian combat suits, Echani armor suits, electromesh suits, light to heavy alloy combat suits, Zabrak armor suits, Ubese Environmental suits, fiber armor, and even the armor suits of both classes from the Jal Shey and Zeison Sha were present in well organized and stored rows. 

Containers of medium armor were also present. From normal battle suits, to high grade armor suits that were hard to come by, Krath models, Echani Battle Armor, Cinnagar War Suits, Powered light to heavy battle armor, heavy armor, and even Verpine armor were also well stocked and stored. 

Containers of heavy armor were also present. Normal heavy armor, Mandalorian Armor, Mandalorian Assault Armor, Corellian Power Suits, Echani heavy armor, Feline, Matrix, Flex Heavy armor, Powered Battle armor, M'uhk'gfa suits, and even Verpine Zal Alloy Mesh armor suits were also nearby. 

Robes were also neatly folded and stored nearby, from normal Padawan robes, to those worn by the Matukai sect. 

Belts for various uses from demolitions, physical enhancement, combat enhancement, utility, immunity, shield generator, stealth, espionage, and more were present. Along with gloves for also the same paths of use and design, including environmental protection and combat enhancement. 

Various forms of head-gear were also stored, along with energy shields, from normal shields, to Echani, Mandalorian, Arkanian, and Verpine shields were all there, fully charged and ready for use. 

On the other cargo hold were piles of chemicals, components, upgrades for all range, melee, lightsaber and armor. There were also containers of food, drink, fuel cells, and power packs. Along with that were supplies of credits, precious gems, and gold currency. 

(Think the ENTIRE arsenal of KOTOR 1 & 2 in Ranma's hands...all in one ship!) 

By Earth standards...with the vast amounts of supplies, funds, munitions, armor, equipment, blades, shields, medical gear, explosives, mines, and all...coupled with the _Ghost Warrior _being able to be used as a mobile base, medical facility and command center...Ranma Saotome had the capacity to wage World War 3 five times on Earth...and come out on top... 

Even 1/4 of all his gear would be worth billions in all arms branches and would be enough to make a small country a military power house for who knows how long? 

Ranma however didn't see it that way and thought of his supplies as merely an extension of his job and mission to halt the True Sith. 

--------------

Later... 

The Jedi youth checked the scanners in the navigation charts and was relieved that no sign of the True Sith had arrived. He then decided to land in a place to get used to being in his native soil of Earth once more. He then decided to move to Japan and see his mother...it has been so long since he saw his mother. 

Ranma then went into the cockpit and watched as his personal ship entered the atmosphere of Earth...before, two years after he had graduated from Revan and Jesse's private academy he had been leading strike teams of both his fellow Jedi, Mandalorians, and Republic commandos into strike and fade raids on Sith controlled worlds, he was like a surgical blade as he and his teams struck into the Sith like a vibroblade into the guts of a target's stomach. For now...he had been allowed to visit his world and act as a sleeper agent of the Jedi and Republic and scout for possible enemy incursion in this sector of the Unknown Regions, he was the perfect choice due to him being born there. 

He then ran the ship's scanners and spotted several strange energy emissions coming from the location on the country known as China. He recalled that his blood father had planned to bring him here once they left for Japan, but he was thankful that it never went about. He then decided to check it out, whatever it was, his ship's sensors were acting very strangely to them. He then reached out with his Force senses as he arrived into the area, since he had needed to avoid revealing the ship to the sensors of anyone close enough to scan the area with radar. He wasn't here to announce he was coming. 

He was unsettled...the feelings of souls trapped in the prison was what he felt, souls unable to be one with the Force for some unknown reasons, he also sensed considerable amounts of Force power being contained and sealed in a scattered location. He also felt mass amounts of eldritch energy that would be a serious magnet with Force potential...like him or the Sith. This naturally merited investigation due to the nature of the power he was feeling...whatever it was, he had to locate and determine it's origin. 

He didn't want to stop his visitation of his homeland...but this was part of his duty...to ensure that the Sith and their allies were denied a solid power base on this world should they come here. 

--------------

In the Bayankala Mountain Range... 

Ranma parked the _Ghost Warrior _in a clearing and engaged his ship's auto defensive systems and stealth mode. He then went to the armory and decided to take some tools and supplies. He then opted to take a special communicator and then activated the AI to track communications in the region...something told him that he would have to be prepared. 

He stuck with his Jedi robes, and took his normal light sabers, but kept a pair of short light sabers in his boots, several grenades, an upgraded Echani Vibrosword, and one of his modified Combat Enforcer rifles. He sheathed the Vibrosword in easy reach on his hip, and his sabers on a holster on his back, and kept the rifle in easy reach behind him. 

As soon as he stepped out of his hidden ship, he used his Force sense to track the energy signature while keeping hidden from possible sight. 

Later...he found himself facing a massive valley filled with springs. Each spring had a number of tall bamboo poles on them. They however were emitting massive amounts of eldritch energy and some amounts of Force energy. The effect would have disoriented untrained Jedi, thankfully in his time hunting the Sith, he learned how to filter the energy from places like this so not to be overwhelmed. They were what Atris and Vandar described as Force wells, similar to the crystal caves that he had gone to in Dantooine to get a crystal for his light sabers. Unlike them however, the Force remained in it's energy form, and didn't become crystals like those he had seen. 

He then heard footsteps and turned to spot a portly man wearing what he could tell was a Guide's uniform, with the symbol of the Chinese Star on him. 

"Oh sir! Who are you?" 

Ranma learned enough to understand Chinese, his ability in the Force allowed him to pick up a language well and he did take time to practice on that trait. 

"My name is Ranma Saotome...who might you be and where am I?" 

The Guide was impressed at the cultured tone in the tall man's voice in speaking his native tongue and replied.

"I am the guide of the cursed Springs known as the Jusenkyo. This place is filled with tragic history, many things had fallen and drowned in this place and they can't leave it and make curses...people fall into the cursed waters...and they too are cursed, for some reason, cold water makes the curse activate, and warm water returns them to full form." 

(Interesting...)

Ranma thought. He decided if he could find more data to put the souls of those cursed and give them a chance to be one with the Force. Plus this needed more looking into.

"Can you tell me more about the springs?"

"So sorry, but only the Amazons who live near here know it's full history, and they do not take lightly to outsiders. They are having difficulties I hear with their neighbors, the Musk and the Republic of China."

Ranma nodded and reached into his robe's pocket and took out some gold coins to the Guide.

"I know you are a busy person, but if it will not trouble you I'd like to go to this village, if only to meet these people."

The guide was wide eyed with awe and shock, the gold coins were of high quality and were worth nearly ten years worth his normal salary, he bit the coins to see if they were fake, and found them to be genuine. This man WAS a kind person to hand him these, the money would ensure that he and his daughter would be well off for a while with the food and supplies they would have.

"Of course sir! I will take you there now!"

--------------

In the Village...

The Amazons were busy working the annual tournament, but there was a slight tenseness in the atmosphere due to the tribe having several current issues. The first was that many of the Musk Dynasty had been launching raids on their lands and they were getting bolder and bolder, in the past they had held their line and beat them back...but the Musk had numbers, power, weapons, and their Jusenkyo gifted blood line to more than surpass their sisters and families. They were skilled and were far superior in techniques, but in the numbers game, they were losing. The Musk were too numerous than the Amazons, and many of their sisters and younger generation were in fear as the Musk would no doubt enslave them and use them as mere labor and worse.

It didn't help matters that the Republic of China in Beijing has been sending threats for the province to surrender to their rule. The Elders knew that the Chinese military has been interested in acquiring the rich mineral and metal deposits in the mountains and valleys, but they had seen how much damage that has inflicted in the once peaceful areas over-run by the Chinese industrialists and their goons, many of their sister villages had to be abandoned due to the invasion. Their sisters had at first tired to reason with the Chinese government...and now they were refugees. Their village was now not only the home of the ancestral guardians of the Jusenkyo springs, but the last bastion to the rest of the hidden Amazon villages. If they fell to either the Musk or the Chinese military...then they would be wiped out.

Elder Cologne looked at her Great Grand Daughter Shampoo as she got ready and chatted to her friends Talcum, Linen, and Silk. The matriarch sighed as she recalled how she had raised Shampoo after the deaths of her parents, both killed in a Musk raid...and the death of Shampoo's aunt from a Chinese military raid years after...she was the only family the purple haired teen had for the past twelve years. She knew that Shampoo was one if not the best fighter of the tribe, but that made her isolated and lonely since she had few friends. Many males liked Shampoo, most of all Mousse...but the Hidden Weapons master was a POOR choice for a husband, his poor eye-sight and stupid/pitiful nature were appalling and were against the behavior of a male Amazon! Shampoo deserved better...and she hoped that soon a man worthy of her only surviving great grandchild would come...but with all the battles and situations, that might as well be wishful thinking.

Shampoo wanted to have a man to respect and like her, as a woman, and not as a blasted prize...not like Mousse. She wanted nothing to do with the man and wanted a real strong man to be her husband. But she felt lonely since the blind master of the martial arts of Hidden Weapons chased any man who came too close to her. She had beaten him to a pulp many times and in many ways, but he kept coming back like a cockroach with the same look on his stupid face.

Shampoo sighed and focused her attention at Talcum's chats about boys, as the younger girl now had a boyfriend from one of the other villages south of their lands. She wished that she herself could be just as lucky as her friend someday.

The signal sounded throughout the village, saying that the tournament was about to start. 

--------------

The Chinese regiment commander smiled wickedly as he looked through his binoculars at the numbers of Chinese Amazons gathering for their tournament. He was looking forward to finally making them submit to the authority of their army as they gathered their forces to finally wipe out the village and claim what they needed...

He smiled as he spotted a rather attractive purple-haired Amazon teen in her pink and blue battle dress.

--------------

(Time for the Chinese army to get an asswhooping...Jedi Style!) 

-------------- 

The Village...

Cologne watched the matches and was happy to see some of the tenseness to finally blow away as the Amazons finally got some time to rest from a few of their problems. The feast that was waiting for them would also help in relieving the tension...

She then turned to spot the Jusenkyo guide coming to the village, he was among the very few outsiders the Amazons allowed into the village, the Amazons didn't shun the outside world, and did trade with the outside world on more than one instance, and there HAVE been some of their heritage who left to see the other countries and they came back to teach the village, but this also was the reason that the Chinese now threatened them...she hoped that someday this would stop. She was about to let the matter be...but that was when she spotted the Guide's companion...and in that very instant she placed her full attention on the lad, who had taken off his hood.

The young man was a sight, well formed muscles on his face and body as far as she could tell underneath the robes he wore, making him appear rather handsome, his eyes were in an intense shade of blue, that seemed to show power, knowledge and wisdom far beyond his eighteen years of age. His tall frame showed power and strength despite his modest robes, she also noted the sword he had strapped to his hip and his way of movement showed intense martial training and skill...but it wasn't just the physical qualities that got her attention... 

The level of ki he had was amazing! He seemed to be in great control of his ki energy...though she could sense that ki wasn't his only hidden talent, she could tell that he moved as if he had been born for battles and wars. The boy was intriguing and deserved to be greeted and investigated as she used her cane to hop over to meet them. 

--------------

Ranma turned as he sensed a presence in the Force and faced a short old woman hopping on a cane coming to them, she appeared to be of great age, at least by human standards and showed knowledge and skill. He learned before that size and age don't matter in the battle when he trained with Master Vandar, and like anything else, elders deserved respect. 

The Guide then whispered to him before leaving the two to speak.

"She is Cologne...one of the Elder Council members, be careful...she is a friendly person, but is very protective of her village and people." 

"I'll keep that in mind."

Ranma replied as he faced Cologne. 

"Greetings young man, may I ask who you may be?" Cologne asked in Chinese as she gazed at the boy and tried to gaze his level of power. 

Ranma sensed Cologne's attempt to probe his power levels. She seemed to be somewhat Force Sensitive, but her control was not as refined, no doubt due to not being made aware of her ability to tap into the Force and trained in the ways of using the energy field. Not to mention that she was FAR too old to be trained in the Force, but he wasn't going to say that. He resisted her attempts to probe him and greeted her as articulately as he could.

"My name is Ranma Saotome of Japan, Honored Elder." He said with a bow in greeting. 

Cologne nodded, she was impressed at how well the young man shielded himself from her attempt to probe his aura, she now knew that he was very powerful to have done that defensive movement with seemingly no effort at all. Plus the boy was cultured from the way he spoke…it was very rare for that to come from male Amazons since many of them were too intimidated, but this outsider was very different indeed.

"I am Elder Cologne of the Amazons, it is a pleasure to meet a cultured young man such as yourself in these days. You are rare in this world and era now. Care to join me in watching my village's annual tournament?"

Ranma nodded courteously, this would be the best way to get on the good side of the Amazons so he walked with her, keeping his Combat Enforcer rifle hidden with a concealment trick with the Force.

-------------- 

The Amazons who were not watching the fights were now busy watching the new arrival with Elder Cologne. Many of the Amazons were young and adult aged, and naturally were in the right age to be married. Many of them were attractive or higher due to selective breeding, though there WERE some who didn't really meet the mold. Nevertheless...regardless of their age, whether they were adolescents, young adults, or adults, all the young women wouldn't take their eyes away from Ranma...he was without a doubt...handsome. 

"Who is he?" 

"Wow...he is cute?" 

"Cute?! Gorgeous I say!"

The older women had smirks on their faces as they gazed with _interesting _expressions as they whispered to one another while gazing at the young Jedi Knight. The younger women also had the same intentions and both age groups tried to get Ranma's attention.

Due to his training...Ranma had no problem picking up the emotions and hidden words, and they reminded him of his time among many of the attractive humans and humanoids in his travels before returning home to Earth. His youth and looks both in his face and frame had gained the attention and affections of female humans, near human females, female Zeltrons, female Twi'leks, female Zabraks, and others, even some female Jedi made some passes at him, discreet ones, or his female Mandalorian friends would be a bit too friendly with him at times...it had been a slight challenge for the young Jedi to avoid being duped into a compromising situation, though his Masters didn't mind him being with the opposite gender in the least...he was still a little too busy to be with women, due to his battles against the Sith for the past two years after graduation...and now he was being reminded of those times. 

It was when he arrived at the large log that he realized that while he was so busy keeping an eye on things, he wasn't paying attention to what was in front of him. In there was the groups of male Amazons who were also fighting and then he noted a teen a year younger than him wearing thick glasses has now facing a massive man armed with an axe. 

"This is where the males of our village battle, we're in time to see the match between Musk and Mousse." 

Ranma wandered what was he doing there, but the martial artist in him decided to watch.

Mousse looked over to the side and spotted Ranma, he discounted the outsider as just that. Outsiders could enter and compete in this tournament, but he was about to show all his fellow Amazons and this new, weak outsider why he was the best...and soon, he would claim his darling Shampoo as his own! 

This was also time for him to use his new attack as the official started the match... 

As Musk, a young male armed with a pair of spiked maces attacked, Mousse merely played along and dodged the attacks. And then he struck out as his arms moved like a blur at least to most people. 

"FIST OF THE WHITE SWAN!!"

The sounds of something heavy impacting on the other Amazon's face was heard as he was reeling and Mousse struck with a kick and knocked him out of the ring, earning him the win. 

Cologne sighed a bit.

"Mousse is a practitioner of the Hidden Weapons style and Musk is still young, I'm not surprised he won." 

(THAT was the WEIRDEST attack I have EVER SEEN!)

Ranma thought with a sweat drop...he had seen both the attack and the weapon.

"That was a cheap shot in my eyes, how the other guy got beaten by that attack and that kind of weapon is beyond me." 

Cologne looked a bit surprised and intrigued. Mousse's hands were always very fast and that made it hard, even for her to see his attacks.

"You SAW that attack?"

"Yes, it was honestly one of the weirdest attacks I have ever seen...especially with the weapon that guy was using." 

"Really? Ranma, if you would mind, I would like you to participate in the tournament." 

"Oh?" 

"Yes, you see, this tournament is the only time Outsiders can join and show their skills, I sense that you are an exceptional fighter and it would honor me if you were to show your skill here. These matches are non lethal so knocking out or wounding an opponent is allowed, but killing is strictly forbidden, along with leaving the ring."

Cologne said carefully, she knew that this lad was no fool, considering the way he dodged her probing of his abilities before so she had to do this wisely, as she suspected that Ranma would be a good addition to the village. 

Ranma didn't know why but something was a bit off. But since he was a guest, he had to prove himself to them. He recalled how Jesse had to prove himself many times to the Mandalorians to get to go to Iziz to track down his former master and friend Kavar. 

"Very well. How do I start this?"

Ranma said as he knew this to be a melee of martial arts fight, so he took out his Combat Enforcer, while making sure not to place his weapon on full power. 

Cologne merely looked at him and didn't mind his blaster rifle though it didn't register as any weapon she knew of. It hardly resembled the weapons they had taken from raiding Chinese troops.

"Simple, stand there in line and wait for you to be signaled to enter the ring. Show me and my village your warrior's spirit young one, and bring honor to yourself." 

"I think I can handle that Elder Cologne." Ranma smiled a bit as he got ready to enter the ring. 

-------------- 

Shampoo and her friends walked over to her great grandmother, who had finished her inspection of Ranma's rifle and admitted that this weapon was very impressive for a projectile weapon. Like all the other female Amazons she was intrigued by the stranger, she was a little bit peeved that Mousse had advanced, but something about this male seemed to tug at her. She had taken a break after winning her share of bouts and decided to investigate.

"Who is he great grandmother?" The purple haired teen asked as she and her friends gazed at Ranma as he faced off with Hunter, who was armed with a great-sword. 

"His name is Ranma Saotome of Japan...though I suspect he has more to tell. It is best we watch this fight...this will be a very interesting match." 

-------------- 

Ranma gazed at his foe and waited. 

Hunter gazed at his foe and noted him being an outsider and decided ask his foe his name. 

"Who are you stranger?" 

Ranma merely bowed.

"I am Ranma Saotome of Japan, I am also a Son of Mandalore of the Mandalorian Clan Ordo and Knight of the Jedi Order."

He then got into a sword drawing stance trained to him by his Mandalorian instructor Bralor and reached for his Echani Vibrosword while moving his robes out of the way. 

Shampoo was impressed at how well he spoke Chinese, but didn't understand several parts of his speech.

"What is Son of Mandalore great grandmother? I haven't heard of this Mandalorian Clan Ordo before...or this...Jedi Order. Have you?" 

Cologne shook her head.

"I have never heard to them either Shampoo...but we can figure that out later, this fight is about to begin."

Hunter struck first and swung his sword at Ranma who suddenly blurred with amazing speed forward, Hunter was struck dumb and was barely able to move back as Ranma struck with a power kick...but as he spun in mid air, he drew out his Vibrosword in one clean fluid motion of Eshin-ryu style and sliced Hunter's sword into two with one blow. 

The Amazon barely had time to see his sword break into two in the middle when Ranma landed and punched him hard in the gut and sent him a few feet in the ring, where he fell out to the ground coughing. 

The audience was silent as they gazed at the feat and looked at the official who checked Hunter and said that he was alive with no serious injuries, and declared Ranma the winner. 

Linen, Talcum and Silk were surprised. "Did you see that?! He took out his sword and sliced Hunter's into two and beat him with one punch!"

Shampoo shrugged, though she had to admit that was something. "Hunter's not really a good fighter."

"Yeah, that's true, but that great sword was made by Slag! That's nearly three inches of high tensile strength steel and he cut it as if it was merely paper!"

"Maybe he knows some ki based technique."

Shampoo said and then heard the bell.

"I need to go...the rest of the matches are starting."

As she looked at Ranma, she felt a slight feeling of familiarity in her, and brushed it off as she went onwards. She thought that she might not see him again since Mousse would be the winner...again and she was going to face her annoying suitor this year.

Had she stuck around like her friends however...she MIGHT have changed her mind. 

-------------- 

Later... 

Cologne was admitting one thing, Ranma knew HOW to fight, that strange but very elegant sword he used was powerful and VERY well made. Yet the sword alone was only part of his arsenal as he was wiping the ring floor with his foes. He moved with a grace and speed that was more than exceptional, his stances were precise and fluid, they conserved his energy and power in such a way that Shampoo's own skills and movements look wasteful and clumsy.

Whoever taught him...taught him well indeed!

Ranma's martial arts arsenals were similar to Wushu, Tai Chi, Karate, Kick-boxing, Taekwondo, Jujitsu, and several other similar martial arts the Elder had seen in her days when she too ventured into the outside world, along with his sword style which resembled Battou-jutsu. But the others...were alien to her, but VERY effective as the numbers of Ranma's defeated foes could show as testament to his skills. They struck with power, force, grace, precision, speed, and accuracy. Since this was a free zone tournament, she felt VERY sorry for the ones hit below the belt.

Many fighters that were defeated by the eighteen year old outsider said that it was like fighting a blur...he moved quickly and fluidly it was near to impossible to accurately hit him and even if they did manage to try and hit him he would block them with such speed and skill it was almost as if he KNEW where and when they would strike...it was unnerving!!!

And when Ranma fought back...it was even more unnerving!!! He struck in body zones with such speed, accuracy and angles that his attacks were difficult to block or predict. He seemed to move and strike as if combat was almost like an art form to him, his blows from either his limbs or his sword found home and left cuts and bruises and had incapacitated them without permanent harm. It was as if he KNEW where they were vulnerable, and WHEN they would be letting their guard down...it showed a level of combat mastery that was impossible!

The others also noticed since Cologne had spotted more and more Amazons gathering, namely the unmarried ones as they watched Ranma move and fight, even an Elder or two were watching as Ranma fought on, like her they too sensed Ranma ki potential. But only she seemed to sense more in his abilities. Normally few would watch the male tournament, but with Ranma fighting the viewer numbers sky-rocketed. 

It went to the point that now Ranma and Mousse were about to face one another, the new comer and the previous champion in the finals. 

Mousse strutted in and jeered at Ranma. "You did well to get this far into the tournament outsider...but your loss comes here!" 

(This guy's more deluded than a stunned mynock.)

Ranma said he merely got into position, in his previous battles, he had used most of his fighting styles and now got ready to face his last foe. 

The referee signaled the fight to start and Mousse wasted little time and fired several shuriken and chain blades at Ranma who merely dodged each attack with ease and then waited as Mousse charged, a sword in each of his hands. Ranma merely blocked the attacks, toying with Mousse as he leaped upwards and tried to slash Ranma's back, but Ranma merely blocked the attack and turning around quickly, he slashed both swords into useless handles.

Mousse expected this fight to be over and he wouldn't have to use his new move on this outsider, but now he realized that it was a mistake as he evaded slashes, punches and kicks and realized that his foe was deadly, but nothing would stop him from winning and claiming his darling Shampoo!

As he got some room he struck.

"This fight is mine! FIST OF THE WHITE SWAN!!!" 

"You're wrong you nerf herder." 

Ranma moved in and attacked.

The crowd were shocked as Ranma literally launched himself from the ground and in a spinning motion slashed in mid air spin and landed as they heard the sounds of his sword cutting something in mid flight. Mousse saw his weapon, a training potty in the shape of a large white duck was now in pieces and as he turned around, Ranma introduced a fist into his gut...the force was enough to knock him down as his thick glasses broke into nothing but fragments as he followed and fell unconscious and saw Ranma merely re-sheath his Vibrosword.

The crowd were silent and so was Cologne, and they erupted in cheer, but the Elder was silent as she knew that what she had intended to do had just been done and had exceeded her wildest expectations...even more so now that she saw Shampoo emerge as the winner in her side of the tournament.

--------------

Ranma suddenly felt his Force senses tell him that something was coming soon, and it told him to be wary. 

--------------

Later…

Ranma was being cheered as he moved out of the ring...and at the very same time Shampoo had taken a break after having a hard time beating the giantess Dowel. The giantess was tough and strong, but she held on and won. Now she was wondering if... 

She then spotted a flow of robes and was pleasantly surprised to see the Mousse had lost, and she was relieved not to be facing that moron of a suitor anytime soon...but that made him question just who she would be fighting. 

Talcum, Linen, and Silk were ahead and were excited beyond belief. 

"HE WON SHAMPOO!!! HE BEAT MOUSSE!!!" 

"Who?" 

"IT WAS AMAZING! HE TOYED WITH MOUSSE AND WHEN MOUSSE USED HIS SECRET MOVE...HE ATTACKED AND DEFEATED MOUSSE JUST LIKE THAT BLIND DOPE WAS A BABY!!!" 

"WHO WON?! WHO AM I SUPPOSED TO FIGHT?!" Shampoo by now was curious and itching to know who beat Mousse. 

The three friends calmed a bit and replied. "The Outsider won...the one who called himself a Son of Mandalore, member of Clan Ordo, and a Knight of the Jedi Order...Ranma Saotome of Japan!" 

As the teen looked over, she spotted the same young man the guide come towards the resting area. Due to the sudden changes in the matches, and the battle with her and Dowel, the Challenge Log had to be fixed a bit so the match she would have with the winner of the male tournament would have to wait.

As she looked at Ranma she then felt as if there was something familiar about him, and it had nothing to do with his looks...at least not partially. The man was handsome, no doubts there, he seemed so powerful but gentle and wise...a stark contrast to Mousse who was powerful in his own right, but was dumb and blind to the core...Shampoo blushed a bit and wondered what was it about this one that had her flustered. 

Ranma also spotted Shampoo and immediately noted the same Force aura as that of Cologne, and deduced that she must be a relative of the Amazon Elder. Or perhaps, considering his estimation of Cologne's age, must be her great grand daughter. Like her relative...Shampoo was Force Sensitive, which would explain why she could handle such weapons like those maces he saw, although her...upper body strength could be a factor. Ranma blushed a bit and chided himself for staring at Shampoo's chest. However, the Force aura was considerable, no doubt that had she been founded by Revan and Jesse apart from him, she would have been his very partner in his training days as both Mandalorian and Jedi... 

Cologne noticed this and smiled a bit..this just might work out... 

Unfortunately things were about to be halted... 

"INTRUDERS!!!"

The look-out cried as she spotted the incoming forces of the Chinese Republic. The Amazons rushed to nearby walled ramparts and growled in anger as the Chinese forces began to appear, infantry followed by light terrain vehicles and tanks. No doubt they were here to force them to surrender. Many of the Amazons gathered, along with their Elders.

Ranma now understood what got his Force Sense riled up and his Precognition told him that this will be a harsh situation. He then looked as Cologne left for the gate, and decided to see if he could do something to avert a disaster. He grabbed his Combat Enforcer rifle and hoped that things won't escalate.

As soon as he got to the rampart...he realized that things going to get ugly, even if he didn't want it to or not. 

The Chinese commander gave his ultimatum. "You will throw down your weapons and allow the Republic of China access to this valley!"

"And if we refuse?!" Cabinet asked in the name of all the Amazons. They however knew what the results would be...destroyed homes, ruined crops, slain sisters, and slavery...they would rather be dead than suffer the last fate.

The commander smiled as he ordered his men to aim, and the tanks get ready to open fire. "Then you will be destroyed...unless you let us take a few of your children as...guests for your cooperation." 

"NEVER!!!" The Amazons shouted in defiance. 

"Then so be it..." The Commander then order his men to attack.

The soldiers began to attack the Amazons with their rifles and grenades. Some of them were bold and tried to fight hand to hand and those soldiers paid with their lives when the Amazons used their deadly martial arts and ki techniques, but the rest, knowing that they would need only to fire their guns to win did so, along with the all terrain vehicles and the their tanks. Some Amazons were wounded and some...did not survive...forcing them to pull back, cursing the Chinese soldiers as cowards. But their curses were drowned by cannon fire as the tanks began to blast the village. 

Men and women tried to fight but were pinned down and their homes were being wiped out by the cannon fire...children cried in fear and others tried to put out the fires. Their warriors could not fight back as the volume of bullets kept them pinned down.

Ranma hid and did a tactical study of the situation, the attackers were primitive by Republic standards, since they used crude projectile weapons and explosives, plus compared to the Mandalorian Basilisk War Droids, Baragwin battle tanks and to HK, those tanks were nothing... but they had more than enough power to pulverize this village.

Ranma's anger and desire to protect others came to the fore as he deactivated the safety of his Combat Enforcer and got his supplies ready.

NO WAY...was he going to let a village filled with innocent people be destroyed! Those guys want a fight...then they were going to GET one! 

--------------

The soldiers were still holding their line so it was hardly surprising when they were suddenly being blasted, but by a type of weapon they were NOT prepared for...Several soldiers were suddenly cut down by what appeared to be lances of pure red light. The soldiers were either hit and were wounded and in intense pain...or were totally incapacitated. The soldiers and the Amazons then turned and spotted Ranma firing is Combat Enforcer rifle...and the soldiers barely had time to recover when he fired a hail-storm of blaster fire that cut down even more of them. Bodies either had holes in them, or limbs burned off, or worse.

Ranma knew that using blasters was frowned upon by Jedi, but his two years of waging war with the Sith made him VERY flexible as he open fired at the tanks and vehicles, and their armor was like paper as the blaster bolts melted past them. He however had other plans as he fired one more salvo, making the solders duck and cover. he leaped away as bullets peppered his location and he was now in the area and then rushed up to a nearby tank with amazing speed and leaped on top of it, and fired his Combat Enforcer at full power..the beams slicing into the tank's turret and hitting the gas tank, as the Jedi leaped away and it blew apart. 

Ranma wasted little time as he blasted away...allowing the Amazons, under the direction of the Elders to get their wounded and critical away from the battle field. One soldier open fired at Ranma on full auto, but Ranma merely used the Force to curve the bullets away and not hit the others. The soldier was shocked at seeing his bullets moving away from the man and his fear overtook him and he ran. 

The soldiers then unleashed ALL their weaponry at the unknown fighter as hails of bullets from assault rifles, pistols and machine guns were unleashed. Ranma knew that he could use the Force and he knew that this will be tough as he had to make sure that unlike last time...he could not afford to miss. Using the Force he created an invisible net and caught the bullets...To the untrained eye...the bullets seemed to be stopping merely a foot away from Ranma as he used the Force to catch them.

The Amazons were in awe, namely Cologne and Shampoo, along with the others who looked as the bullets from the weapons of the Chinese seemed to be caught in mid air...just what sort of ki technique or magic spell was that man using?! It became apparent that it was powerful indeed as the bullets gathered en masse before the man.

The soldiers and their commander were shocked as their weapons clicked on empty and they didn't even come close to harming the man in front of them...they had only a little warning as Ranma slowly pushed the bullets back...many didn't know what was happening but hid and it was a good move as Ranma merely waved his hand like swatting a fly and sent ALL their bullets back at them...the result was a tsunami of bullets that had the Chinese soldiers scrambling for cover like MAD!!!

The bullets hit the Chinese army like a wave and the results were evident as tanks were covered with sparks as the bullets ripped and tore at the outer armor, leaving massive gashes and nicks on the armor plating. Their light vehicles suffered the same fate and window panes were shattered easily...thankfully the drivers had enough common sense to duck and were not killed...the whole area was filled with noise from the re-directed bullets and sparks were there as well...giving the Chinese soldiers a VERY accurate idea of how the Amazons felt when they did this to them.

The Chinese commander ordered all troops to concentrate on eliminating Ranma and this time, don't stop firing until he was dead. Ranma heard it and decided to re-sling back his Combat Enforcer and go on the serious offensive. He then took out his light sabers from the holster, used the Force to grant him improved ballistic protection and increase his speed and reflexes, and ignited his lightsabers as the bullets came and he went into his training at Soresu...

The Amazons were shocked beyond belief...namely those who saw Ranma fight with his Vibrosword...at first he took out a pair of silver cylinders and then two blades of pure energy came out from them...one blue as the rivers and sky, another as silver as snow and the clouds and in a second the man moved them with amazing speed that they were like blue and silver glowing shields! They also heard boiling noises and saw smoke, and smelled molten metal and realized that the bullets from the Chinese troopers were hitting the glowing blades and were being reduced into nothing!

The Chinese troops had just emptied their magazines when they saw the massive pile of liquid lead and copper that showed what happened to their bullets. They were NOW shitting in their pants and sweating lead as they tried to reach into their belts for more magazines, but Ranma beat them to it. He blurred into their ranks and with his lightsabers, began to fight.

Rifles were turned into worthless piles of metal and plastic as they were cut by the Jedi with precise strikes of his sabers. Soldiers were frozen in fear as they saw their vaunted rifles reduced into scrap...while others tried to fire, but ended up hitting their fellow comrades as they found that trying to hit Ranma when he was using the Force was like trying to catch a falling coin with their teeth. Others were also wounded severely by the Jedi, who still disliked killing them due to them not being Dark Side, but they had attacked innocent people and had to be stopped as much as possible. The tanks and vehicles tried to get involved and paid a price for it.

One had it's cannon slashed off by Ranma's blue saber, and he used the Force to lift up the severed metal tube and then jammed it into another tank's treads and that stopped the tank cold. Ranma also used his grenades and leaped around while sprinkling them over his foes. Soldiers were left to stick around...literally as adhesive grenades held them in place. Light vehicle drivers got out of their vehicles and screamed in pain as sonic grenades exploded around them. Ranma then introduced a Cryoban grenade into the barrel of a tank, turning it into a brittle tube along with the turret, forcing the crew to leave.

Another tank was lifted by Ranma through the Force and tossed aside and the crew escaped as their vehicle was destroyed. Another was introduced to Ranma's lightsaber as he rushed in and slashed the treads and left it unable to fight, along with slicing off the barrel. Another pair tried to tag team the Jedi, but he leaped up and jammed his light saber into the front of one tank, melting the motor and leaped on the other and jammed an adhesive grenade into the turret, the result was jamming it...resulting in the thing being stuck in tight. He then tossed the silver light saber and slashed the gas tank on the other tank, the explosion was the result and was it blowing up and Ranma getting his light saber in mid air, he then took out his short sabers and jammed them into the engines of several more light vehicles...resulting in them being blown apart. Other tanks and vehicles which were abandoned had frag grenades stuffed into them and they were reduced into burning wrecks... 

The soldiers and vehicle drivers were lucky in a sense that Ranma was NOT packing thermal detonators...the weapons could incinerate a court-yard or blow a massive building into rubble...and considering the fact it was like having an explosive fusion bomb in the palm of your hands...well...the results would NOT have been pretty!! 

The Jedi got his gear and moved on to decimate the soldiers, tanks and vehicles.

The Commander then realized that they had no choice, he didn't plan on using the attack helicopters...but this was a SERIOUS situation! One man was decimating his entire regiment!!!

Ranma had just sent more soldiers running as he leaped into their ranks and used a Force Wave to send them all flying back a few good thirty meters, when he heard the helicopters coming in.

They were Hind Gunships and were armed to the teeth, but compared to the machines he had operated in his younger days, they were merely crude toys, but possessed enough fire power to level the village and it seems that was what they were meant to do. 

"Throw down your weapons and we will not tear apart the village!"

The Commander shouted as he gazed that the battle field and to his losses, along with the ruined wrecks of his tanks and vehicles and wounded troops. 

"If I do that, what's the guarantee you don't do that anyway?"

Ranma replied in Chinese. He knew that the commander would just gun him down and waste the village, plus he had felt the guy's lecherous eyes lock onto Shampoo when he first appeared, no way was he letting this idiot have his way. Plus he would have to go to Beijing to see if he could find the cause of this attack, this place was seeped in history and it would be a massive mess to try and destroy it, which made no sense at all to him.

"I don't have the time to discuss that with you, whatever you are! Throw DOWN your weapons!!"

Ranma sensed the helicopter's weapons being activate and he decided to take them out quickly before they got lucky, he quickly reached into his grenade pack and found his small batch of Ion grenades. He tossed them into the air and with the Force guided them with great speed to the choppers and with the Force detonated them...the flash of ion energy was something else! While relatively harmless to organic targets, ion grenades and weapons were absolute murderers on machines, shields, and droids.

The pilots recovered, but suddenly found their navigational systems, targeting sensors and more had just been wipe out! The only way they stayed in the air was their engines were not computer run and still functioned, but their weaponry were all computer run...and that was dead.

"What the blasted hell are you all doing?! Open Fire!!!" The radios were barely working as the Commander managed to get a transmission through, the pilots were using older model radios and were lucky those were not too sophisticated to be affected by ion grenades.

"Commander!! Those grenades have fried all our systems expect propulsion and low level communications!! All of our weapon systems and instruments are dead!! We're nothing now but flying coffins of metal!!!"

"WHAT?!"

The Commander turned in fear to Ranma...along with the other soldiers and drivers of the all terrain vehicles and tanks.

"W...W...What did...WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY CHOPPERS?!"

"Nothing, just gave them a simple shock treatment."

Ranma then used the Force to catch the choppers with considerable control, ripped off the weapon systems off the choppers, missile launchers, gun pods, rockets, and more were being taken out, their mounts merely ripped off by invisible hands. Ranma wasn't as totally adept yet with minute Force manipulation, but he worked hard on that. Once he was done ripping off the weapon systems, he made short work of getting the choppers down to the ground, when that happened, the pilots and gunners ran out in panic to join the survivors. Ranma then tossed the choppers as if like they were tin foil packs and then glared at the Commander and his crew.

"If I can do this to your entire regiment, then imagine what I can do to you Commander? I will tell you this now...go back to your base and NEVER come back here again."

The Chinese soldiers and their officers high tailed it out of there as if the nine dragons of China were after them.

The Amazons cheered and their eyes went back to the Jedi before them, Ranma then turned off his lightsabers and sighed, while calling the Force to sustain himself...he still had a lot to do. 

--------------

The Amazons were now busy tending to their wounded, and Ranma was right there, carrying his survival pack of medpacs and other items, and what he could not totally cure with medpacs, he cured with the Force. He did it to show that not only was he a warrior, but a healer at the same time. Jedi in his masters' words, could be killers in battle, but they too could be healers off the battle-field.

Cologne and the others watched in awe as Ranma went to work on healing the wounds of their sisters with those strange packs and then with his ki abilities, his mastery was amazing! The wounds were sealed and closed, some who were critically wounded were also healed by Ranma, though those who could not survive were given an honorable burial.

As it was over, Ranma turned and spoke to Elder Cologne.

"I wish to help you and your village...if you will allow me?"

The Elders thought it over. Their people had great pride as warriors and martial artists, and they relied on each other and themselves to survive, they had done so for the past three thousand years after all this time. And the idea of asking for help was foreign to them and somewhat unwelcomed. But seeing Ranma fight both in their tournament and against the Chinese military showed that he could be a valuable asset to them...and VERY viable husband material. They however knew they had to be careful, his display of near out worldly talent meant that he was not easily duped into anything, and a man who could do that kind of damage...DESERVED respect.

Many Amazon women considered that as well, all of them were the unmarried, young, and adult types, the age range being from teens to middle adults. Shampoo was among them, along with many others. Many of them had no marriage prospects yet and the fact that Ranma was tall, mysterious, powerful, lethal, gentle, handsome, and very strong in martial arts and more made him near to irresistible!

Ranma gulped a bit as he could sense the sudden rise in the air. He hoped that nothing would happen while he was here.

--------------

Two days later...

Ranma sighed as he worked on helping repair the village a few days after the attack from the Chinese Army. After the battle he had managed to leave for a few hours and took out supplies from his ship, namely sensor systems and mines and placed them in strategic passes and valleys while the sensors helped maintain a defensive line around the village, if he learned one thing about warfare, it pays to keep your enemies out of your hair with a few surprises.

Right now he had done a good deal of work in the village to effect repairs from the assault...and he had decided to do many other things as well, while under the care of Cologne and Shampoo, becoming their guest in the village under their roof, this naturally sparked some jealousy among the other Amazons, but thankfully nothing bad happened.

He had been able to learn enough about the Jusenkyo springs from Cologne and had gone there to alleviate the suffering of those who drowned and died there, no matter if they were beast or human. He however could not cure the springs of their curses, but he had made sure to dampen their Force energy emissions anyway.

Throughout the time he had been helping maintain the defense of the village, he also made it a point to learn exactly what led to this battle between the Amazons and the Chinese military. His link up with the _Ghost Warrior _and the data it had been gathering when he left allowed him to learn that someone in the Chinese Government had a vested interest on the natural resources in the region, along with other materials, and whoever it was, he/she had ordered that the Amazons were to be dealt with...either taken as labor and more, or to be wiped out. Ranma then decided to check this out, if there was a possible Sith agent doing all this.

Due to the long generations of training and possible breeding, it was highly possible that many of the Amazons would be born with the ability to feel the Force, since apart from Cologne and Shampoo, there were some in the village who were also Force Sensitive. If a Sith was behind these raids, then it would be a possibility that this would weaken potential Jedi candidates, along with them being taken and converted into Sith, still it could be just some callous maniac with too much power in his/her hands, and the Dark Side didn't always have to take hold of people through the Force to be there.

Cologne had also told him about the recent attacks on the rest of their sister villages, along with the losses of treasures and more in the villages. The place was taken and ransacked, along with many taken alive, apart from those killed or wounded. As he talked to those directed by the Elder, he didn't notice any influence of the Sith, but nevertheless, these actions were inexcusable and had to be dealt with.

As he was still busy with his work, he also thought back on another conversation with Cologne and some of the Elders. they had asked him who was his master in the arts of Ki manipulation, and Ranma did his best to explain his powers and skills, plus his training.

They at first were shocked to learn that he had been subjected to the Cat Fist, but were even more surprised to learn how Revan and Jesse had used the Force to remove the mental damage from his mind, along with his training under Juhani that helped him expel the last traces of his phobia. They didn't believe it at first, but they seemed to recall all the feats he had done in front of them in the battle a day before and let it go. He then told them about the Force and what it was...at least what his mentors had told him about it.

He then took the time to explain to them that the Force was something those with Force Sensitivity like him could learn to tap into, he also told them that their people had individuals who could utilize the Force, such as Shampoo and several others, but they had to gain the training by those who knew and used the Force to be able to tap into it. They naturally asked him if he could train their people how to use the Force, since they would need it to defend their people. Ranma however told them that he was not qualified to train their people, since he himself was too young to become a Master of the Jedi Order, plus the dangers involved with such training. The Force was a great ally to those who used it wisely and well, bringing miracles...but to those with dark desires and corrupt hearts, it could consume and destroy not just the user, but all those around them. He did not want such a situation to occur in his world and in some ways, the Amazons could understand that, though he knew that they were not going to relent with the idea.

He then told them about both the Jedi Order and the Sith Empire...and they were shocked as he showed them a data-pad that held some of the data concerning them. Namely the Jedi that fought using the Light Side of the Force...while the Sith conquered with the Dark Side, how the Jedi healed and protected using the Force, namely those who were rebuilding the nearly destroyed Republic and the Order, and how the Sith crushed and conquered their way into the Galaxy wielding the deadly and evil side of the Force. 

Ranma then decided that after that, he would try his best not to train any of the Amazons in the Force, until he would be given the go ahead by his masters, it would be too dangerous for him to teach them the Force and run the risk of them using the Force the wrong way. But that didn't entirely mean he couldn't teach them what else he knew. Cologne allowed him to train Shampoo in some of the martial arts he knew, even some other Amazons also asked to train in the martial arts with him...however he had a feeling that with their various dresses and actions in training time...they had MORE than training on their minds, namely when they looked at him like a pack of firaxa sharks after a meal, or a Zeltron woman after a man. 

A week later... 

The village was now newly rebuilt, and Ranma decided to prepare for a trip to Beijing, but he certainly couldn't ride in his ship to the Chinese capital. He had to see if he could uncover the reason for the invasion of the Amazon lands. He had a long chat with Cologne and Shampoo and although they wanted him to challenge Shampoo, they knew that this would be the best chance to halt the attacks.

Many Chinese forces had tried to take their lands once more and were cautious after engaging Ranma, plus his mines and sensors made it even harder for them to get closer, but that didn't last forever, and the best way to kill a snake was to take off the head...and that was what Ranma planned to do...however, Cologne and Shampoo, along with some other Amazons decided to come along, to act as support for Ranma. He didn't quite like the idea, but he had a plan.

While they admired the ship's quarters, he began to study what he needed to initiate his plans. Once he had some of what he needed, he got down to his idea. 

-------------- 

Beijing...The Parliamentary building... 

"Halt!" 

The guard spotted a band of women appear, and in front of them was a man dressed in what appeared to be a businessman's attire. 

"Yes?" 

"Where you going with these...people?" The guard said as he gazed at the band of people, namely several women who appeared to be adults, and a few were teenagers. They were dressed in normal clothes for the Chinese woman, but they were all attractive...making the guard aware of that fact with their forms and appearances. But he had his duties to perform. 

"I am here to see General Weng Zhao...I have a business proposition for him concerning his...interests in the province of the Amazons."

The man spoke in Chinese. 

The guard merely looked at him and asked.

"I don't recall you having an appointment with the General. What's your name sir?" 

"My name is Kung Houren, these are my support staff, I came here to see if I can help your General in gaining supplies and support from my company in his interests in the province." 

The guard then thought it over. "Let me see your identification sir." 

The women seemed to become a bit hesitant, but they held on...suddenly Kung Houren spoke in a cool and low tone. 

"You don't need to see my identification." 

The guards suddenly stopped and looked...blank for some reason, and then replied, saying the same words as the man in the business suit said. 

"I don't need to see your identification." 

"My business is with the general and I do not wish to be disturbed." Kung said calmly.

"Your business is with the general and I will make sure you are not disturbed." The guard also replied. 

"I can go ahead and see the General." 

"You can go ahead and see the General." 

The guard then opened the door to the last hallway and allowed the rest of the people across, as that happened, the group was covered in a shimmering effect and out came the Amazons led by Shampoo, Cologne, Cabinet, and several others, all of them now took out their weapons while the one known as Kung Houren was none other than Ranma, who took out his light sabers. 

"These hologram belts you made are astounding Ranma...but how did you bypass all those heavy check-points?" Cologne asked in curiosity.

"The Force is a powerful tool on the weak minded Elder Cologne. However, I only use this method if stealth is needed, and considering all I've seen, I think it was worth it." Ranma replied as they moved on, to the room of their target. 

-------------- 

General Weng Zhao was busy talking to his aide on the phone concerning their operations in the province of China where the Amazons lived. He wanted to get as much treasure as he could from the lands, and the excuse he came up with, stating that the Amazons had been attacking his forces were merely a ruse to gain support from the army for his ventures, and that of his associates in the underworld. They loved the idea of having authentic Amazon women as underground fighters, and more...illegal ventures, along with the money they could make from the treasures in the black market, since they had sold a lot to many other underworld groups...along with their...human catches. All the General wanted was power, money, women, and treasure. He cared little on how he had to get all four, and his new plan on playing on the recent battles were going to help. 

He was about to wish he never tried it. 

The doors of his room opened...and in came a figure dressed in robes and had a pair of cylinders in his hands. 

"How dare you...wait...YOU?! HOW DID YOU?! GUARDS!!!" Several soldiers came in but were easily over-run by the Amazons, while two were stripped of their weapons as the man in robes moved his hands they watched as their rifles were crushed. 

The General was about to press the alarm and reach for his side arm when he was suddenly lifted from his seat and his gun taken from him and was melted with a swipe from the man's energy blades. 

Later... 

Weng Zhao was now tied into his chair as the Amazons stood guard, the elders and the others looking at him in dark fury. He tried to say that his security cameras would get them all on tape and they will pay for this...but the man merely replied that he had already dealt with that...and for some reason, the General knew somehow that the man wasn't lying. 

"Now then General...care to tell me why you've been sending the soldiers into the lands of the Amazons?" Ranma asked warmly. 

"I won't tell you a thing!"

Ranma merely grinned. He had scanned him before, and found no Sith influence, but this man's crimes were now about to be revealed to the public. 

"You will General...you will." 

-------------- 

Two hours later... 

As the Amazons used the hologram belts to leave, Ranma looked at the General who struggled. 

"I'll MAKE YOU PAY FOR THIS!!" 

"How can you? Neither I nor the Amazons were ever here General, all you had seen was merely a dream." 

The General then answered. "Neither you nor the Amazons were ever here, all I saw was merely a dream." 

Later...

The President of the Republic of China was a peaceful sort and wanted good trade relations with it's neighbors, both in China and outside. But the Amazons were the most resistant, but he wondered why. He hoped that General Zhao's methods were not too extreme ever since he had assigned the General to establish trade relations with the Amazons, he was a bit extreme, but very intelligent. As he got into his office, he was surprised to see a small cassette tape with the label. 

'Crimes against the Amazons.'

"What is this about?" The Chinese President asked as he slid in the tape to his player. 

Several international, national, and local news groups were all asking the same question as they too received the same tapes and were about to play it. 

Elsewhere, Ranma had dropped off the Amazons and stayed in the ship to maintain a chance to check on the progress of China's communications, the only ones with him were Cologne and Shampoo.

There was no doubt in his mind that the results would be interesting once the news of General Weng's confessions came out in China and the world. 

-------------- 

To be continued...

--------------

Author's notes:

Well now…Ranma's certainly left quite the impression now did he? Not only does he get the attention of just about EVERY female in the Amazon village…including Shampoo…But also winds up becoming a hero among them for giving the Chinese forces a serious kick in the rear end.

And he just uncovered a corrupt Chinese General who was responsible for the whole thing, and it will not be long for Ranma's actions to have very far reaching consequences on Earth. And most of all, this will certainly grab a certain person's attention, as to who that person is…

That's up to me to decide…

See you in the next chapter!


	6. The reunion

Ranma / Knights of the Old Republic

Disclaimer:

Statement: I do not have any ownership of Knights of the Old Republic, or the Ranma series. Thus any attempt to charge this unit for lawsuits will result in meat-bag termination.

Sorry, couldn't help myself with the bad HK-47 Impression, anyway, I do not own Knights of the Old Republic or Ranma, that's all.

Chapter 5

The Reunion

( ): Thoughts

The skies above China...

Ranma was having a good time as he was cruising in his ship and now heading to where his mother lived. He had done his part in fixing the mess started by the greedy General and the mess was now being cleaned up by the Chinese Republic. The Amazons were not very happy to see him go, but it was for the best since he had many things left to do and he had NOT been inducted into the tribe and as such was allowed to come and go as he pleased. Apart from medical personnel and traders...he would be one of the few outsiders welcomed among them.

Cologne and Shampoo were sad to see him go, but they had much to thank him for, the training Ranma had given Shampoo had helped a good deal, plus he was the only friend she had and in time, she had more friends due to Ranma helping her deal with the fact that she was one of the best fighters in the village but she was also a normal girl who loved to have friends, and letting her be friends with the others apart from Talcum, Linen, and Silk, plus making her more confident in the other arts in her village to balance her combat skills, Shampoo also gained some of his training with Echani and Mandalorian martial arts, and those helped her a good deal with her combat training.

Plus with many of the other girls no longer isolating her, it certainly helped her be a regular girl...who had a crush, albeit a SERIOUS ONE with her guest and part time teacher.

Cologne was also happy in the way Ranma handled himself as a guest, he was very much a good man, cultured and well mannered, unlike Mousse who constantly embarrassed himself and was too blind to see that her great grand daughter had no interest in him...period. Ranma also worked hard while in the village, doing normal things, such as helping deliver supplies, fix houses and roofs, cook and clean, things that were somewhat demeaning to men, but seemed to be right in some way for the Jedi.

Mousse may needle him about it ever since becoming a guest in her home, but he was steaming mad at how many women and Shampoo most of all were treating him kindly. The Elder matriarch knew that Mousse hated Ranma due to his closeness to Shampoo and her only relative's affections towards him...had Ranma been challenged by Shampoo and she had lost, she would be more than happy to have the Jedi as a son-in-law 

Not to mention, he was respectful to Elders and showed proper decorum when in the presence of others. It galled the elder that Mousse would be disrespectful to the core with her, and his blindness made it worse! Other Amazons, and even the males took some time to train with him, and although he NEVER taught higher level techniques...namely Force based ones...the time away from the pompous blind jackass was something they liked a good deal. 

Mousse hated Ranma and was hoping that someday, he would be rid of the Jedi and reclaim his beloved Shampoo from his grasp! That loss didn't count in the mind of the Hidden Weapons Master...he had not been prepared at all, and it was a lucky break for Ranma, nothing more!!!

Naturally he ignored the fact that he lost in front of a large number of his fellow male and female villagers to the outsider he still considered weak. So he attacked him as best he could...Mousse spent his morning to afternoons in the village healer's house for a few days since Ranma responded by beating him hard to the ground without hurting him too hard.

All in all, they were sad to see him leave, but with one part of their problems finally removed, they could pick up their lives and rebuild.

Mousse however had other ideas as he looked at the departing ship and then to Shampoo. 

-------------- 

Japan...

Nodoka Saotome smiled as she cleaned her home and read her mail while wearing her favored kimono, and her hair in it's normal bun. She had made new changes to her home and had also been busy with other matters. It had been nearly twelve years since the fateful day she had met Revan, and Jesse, two men who saved her only child from her dunce of a spouse...and she hoped that soon her son would return safe and sound from his time as a Jedi. 

She smiled a bit as she recalled seeing her son and holding him and sighed. 

(I hope you come home soon Ranma...it's been a long time since I held you here. I just hope that you are ready for what I have to tell you.)

She then decided to see what was happening in the world today.

She then listened in as a report came in concerning a powerful scandal in the Republic of China. Apparently it had something to do with a certain General's brutal and underhanded tactics involving the Amazons of China.

In the _Ghost Warrior_, Ranma was also watching the news while his ship was on auto-pilot and was now over Japan.

The two watched the incoming news:

The young Japanese woman who was part of CNN was now giving the report.

"This is Yui Yukamura CNN Asia's Japan Branch giving you the latest results from the capital of China, Beijing, where the trial of General Weng Zhao is nearing it's final stage. "

"To recap the events that lead to his arrest nearly a week ago, General Zhao has been recorded to have admitted to what can be accounted as the worst humanitarian crime within Chinese territory, this has also been determined to be equal to the Rape of Nanking during the invasion of Japanese forces during the time of World War 2. General Zhao, one of the high ranking senior leaders of the Chinese Republic was once tasked to help maintain security for China's attempts to expand trade with the Amazons living in the more remote regions of China...However he had resorted to outright brutality and destruction which had claimed the lives of many Amazon villages. Many of the inhabitants were either killed by General Zhao's loyal troops and weapons, or were taken as slaves, their goods plundered and homes razed to the ground. Zhao was also admitted to connections to various branches of Organized Crime, including the Triads who had sold many ancient and precious artifacts owned by the Amazons...along with them being sold as underground fighters, slaves and more."

"Last week, the records of his crimes were given by unknown but highly effective and accurate sources and the recent investigations by the Chinese Intelligence Corps has turned up evidence that lends 100 accuracy to the evidence presented in his trial. The Amazons themselves, led by the Elder Council came to the court in Beijing after a brief negotiation with the President of the Republic a few days ago and along with them were refugees of the other villages that were previously attacked by Zhao's forces."

Images of Cologne, Cabinet and other members of the Elder Council, along with those from the neighboring villages were shown as they gave true to life accounts of the attacks. And more recently the attack of Zhao's troops on the last bastion village and how many of their sisters were badly injured. One image was seen of the tall figure dressed in robes next to Cologne. That one caught Nodoka's attention as she listened in for the rest of the report.

"Despite Zhao's lawyers saying that the Amazons' testimonies did not stand up to court, more evidence, including more of his connections of illegal underground fighting rings, drug trades, black market trade, bribery, and even prostitution were more than enough to add weight to the testimony of the victims of what had once been a peaceful attempt for the outside world to speak to those who have been part of history for the past three thousand years has been ruined by one man's greed and lust for power, along with his various associates."

"The President has this to say."

The images changed to the President of the Chinese Republic. The man looked sad and apologetic as he spoke to the press and to the rest of the people watching the program.

"It had been a gross mistake on my part to allow General Zhao authority to be managing the security of this matter, I had hoped to establish a link between us and the lost Amazon sisters of this nation, allowing them to trade their history and allow us and those of the international community to see them in their ways and respect them...but that has been ruined by the former General's greed and brutality, I had hoped that in time his extreme methods were to be removed...but I was wrong...to the Elder Council, I wish to extend my sincere apologies for your people's suffering and as such we will withdraw our military forces from your lands and promise to come in peace once more. Until this mess is resolved, no Chinese military force may enter the lands and borders of the Amazons."

Yui then reported the last of the information.

"As a result of his actions and that of his followers and the outrage of many of the international communities here in the world...General Zhao was found guilty of all charges and he and his forces have been stripped of their ranks and positions in the Chinese Army and are to be sent into exile...away from civilization, with life terms with no possibility of parole. Along with them are their underworld contacts as the Chinese nation now clamps down on the criminal elements that have supported General Zhao and his campaign of terror. The Amazons have accepted the terms of the President and have returned to their villages to rebuild their lives. No one knows who provided the evidence…but one thing is certain…whoever this person is…he or she is a true humanitarian and brave beyond measure…"

Nodoka sighed as she looked at the images...more intently at the male figure in robes behind the one they called Elder Cologne. His robes were similar to Revan and Jesse when she met them twelve years ago...

(Could it be?)

Unknown to her, the _Ghost Warrior_ had just landed in the same lot and Ranma had the spare communicator Revan had given her when they first came to her with Ranma in tow. The young Jedi Knight also activated it and it sent out a signal as he made his way to the house, happy to be setting foot on his native home-land once more and to breath in the smells.

Nodoka, then turned to the nearby safe box and used the code to open it...and looked that the communicator Revan had left her, and...it was on! She had not been able to learn how to operate it however, due to its complex design, plus she had hidden it from Genma to make sure he didn't steal it and sell it to the highest bidder, if he did, then her only link to Ranma would be lost forever.

Her heart beat fast as she realized that it meant her son was coming home, but how could she talk to him when she had no idea on how to operate the device?!

That was when she heard the door being knocked upon, she sighed and tried to calm herself as she decided to answer the door, it was probably just the mail-man, newspaper boy, some of her friends...or it could. But she shook her head, only way she would know was by opening the door... 

However there was a feeling that tugged at her, telling her that the person behind the door was... 

"Hi mom...it's been a long time." The communicator in her hand sounded...in Ranma's voice! 

In an instant, Nodoka rushed up to the door and opened it to see the very same male in robes that she knew as that of Jedi Robes, but when the man removed his hood, it revealed a face that looked so familiar, the same blue eyes, black hair, and smile that she knew belonged to her only child. 

"Ranma...?"

"Hello mother...I 'm home!" Ranma said with tears in his eyes along with Nodoka as they held one another in greeting. They had not seen each other in twelve years since the night he had been brought back to her, and that was that. 

-------------- 

Later...

Nodoka was happy chatting away with her son, who was more than happy to listen as they traded stories back and forth. The Saotome matriarch was both awed and shocked as he told her about his training regime in both the Mandalorian Clans and then with the Jedi, but saw the results as Ranma was tall, muscular, handsome, knowledgeable and very well skilled...even more so as they both worked on making their meal, she cooked the sushi and sashimi, along with the tempura, while he worked on the noodles and tea, showing to her that her son was just as skilled off the battle-field and out of it. As they talked about his travels and lessons, he showed her holo-vids of his journeys, namely Dantooine, Onderon, Alderaan, Coruscant, and other worlds.

He talked about all that he learned in those places, and Nodoka was amazed at the images of her son learning and growing. It hurt a bit to know that she was not there to see it in person...but Ranma pledged that someday, he could show her the galaxy.

She also couldn't help but smile as her son was being cuddled, looked on with affection, and teased by many females, either human, near human, humanoid, or alien. It was a thing of pride for her to see just how popular her child was with the opposite gender regardless of their appearance. And no wonder, as she looked at her son, he was handsome and very much a kind gentleman…so it hardly would surprise her if many ladies here on Earth would be commenting on his looks and form. She smiled once more and then a thought came into mind. 

"Ranma, I had been watching the news from China about that General Weng Zhao, and I saw these same robes on a man...was that you my son?" 

"Yes mom that was me." 

"Care to tell me about it?"

Ranma then told her about his arrival to the Amazon village, his participation in the Tournament, his aid in the defense of the village, his time there helping defend and rebuild, and his covert attack on General Zhao, and his uncovering of the large crimes the man had committed while using his agents in the media to distort the truth. 

Once he was done, Nodoka smiled with even greater pride at her son. He was a champion of the truth and the good of all life...it showed that her decision to allow Revan and Jesse to train Ranma was the right one...she shuddered mentally at the thought of Genma doing the training now that... 

"Ranma...I will have to tell you about what had happened these last twelve years since I last saw you." 

"Go ahead mom, I have a feeling this will be hard for both of us."

"In that regard you are correct."

Ranma listened calmly as best he could as his mother told him about the crimes that Genma had committed when he had last been here on Earth. He had stolen so much food, clothing and supplies that it wasn't long before he had been in the most wanted lists in Japan. He had now been on the run when he had stolen a package of jewelry meant for a wedding of the son of the Japanese Prime Minister to his fiancée...and since Genma was too dumb to think it through, he had been only made aware of it when the police had been after him for nearly two months. To add to that were the amounts of crimes he had been involved in using Ranma for the past six years.

Ranma raised an eye-brow at what he learned. "I've been engaged HOW many times?!"

"Yes, your father had used you as collateral to gain food and supplies from various families, many of them were either middle class or from prominent families. After he 'agreed' to have you be the groom of the family's eldest or youngest daughter, he spirited you away and did the same thing over and over again until you were six. While you were away with Revan and Jesse, I was visited by them almost constantly, asking when you would return to live up to what your father promised." Nodoka fumed a bit at that.

Ranma was getting faintly annoyed, but when he learned the truth about his close friend Ukyo Kounji, he gave a very offended look...

"What?! Ucchan was a girl?!" 

Nodoka nodded.

"Yes, I myself had no idea Ukyo was a woman until her father told me himself. As far as I know she is studying in Nerima's Furinkan High School and I do have a property there, where we may need to move soon due to many restaurant owners no longer allowing our family to shop here, along with those shop owners. It had been a chore at times to get supplies for this house though. Most of the money we had went to paying as much of your father's debts, and since he no doubt has been stealing more and more...I would hardly be surprised if his debts will be amounting to the billions by now."

Ranma shook his head in disgust. To think that his father had stooped to this!!! Thank the Force and Kami-sama that he was found by Revan and Jesse, he shuddered a bit at the image of what it would have been had he stayed with that dunce of a man.

His thoughts were further reinforced as he learned about the OTHER engagements he had been involved in due to Genma tossing out whatever common sense and morals he had to feed his stomach. 

-------------- 

In Heaven... 

Kami-sama was smiling at the thought, he enjoyed that fact and knew Ranma was meant for greater things. 

-------------- 

Later that night... 

As Nodoka slept in her room, happy to know her son was home...her son had to make some plans. 

Ranma gave a lot of thought on what he had learned...there had been a lot of damage done by Genma's callousness and stupidity to his mom and family. This was now coming back to haunt his mother, and she looked a bit tired of all this, despite her healthy look, he could see through his training in Force Sight that the twelve years of dealing with the fallout of his dad's sins had taken their toll on her. As her son, it was now his turn to rectify all these mistakes.

(Pops...I know I don't want to say it...but I hope that someday you will get what's coming to you. I only wish that someday you can be reformed...but I doubt that.) 

Elsewhere...

Genma was breathing a sigh of relief as he checked the pilfered newspaper, it said that the police had given up looking for him and that meant that running was now over for him...all he had to do now was make a few plans and meet with an old friend. 

Now all he had to do was come up with a plan. 

-------------- 

Three days later... 

"Are you sure about this Ranma?"

Nodoka asked as she and her son went to his ship to get the money needed to pay the debts that Genma had incurred here in Fuchu. Nodoka had enough money, but the vast number of debts Genma had were too much in the other parts to be easily paid off. 

"I can handle this Mom, this will at least make sure that we can clean up at least a portion of the Saotome name."

The young man replied as he typed in the access code to deactivate the stealth mode of his ship. Later that morning, he informed his mother that he had the finances to help pay the debts here in Fuchu that his father had made while he was away. 

Nodoka's friends were surprised to see Ranma, since he had been away for nearly twelve years it was hardly surprising that they suspected Nodoka was having an affair, but they were relieved that after a DNA test, it was revealed that the young man was actually Ranma, her son. And true to Nodoka's predictions, many females had taken notice of her son. On the past days while Ranma was there, many young women were looking at him with lustful stares and leers as they saw him dressed in a white shirt, and blue jeans with sneakers, normal male wear as he moved about, but they clothes gave emphasis to his well muscled and tall form...more than enough incentive to catch the attention of the female population in the town they were staying in. Even some of the more jaded women, and call girls were drooling at him...plus his kind and gentle exterior made him look like an innocent babe...making a lot of girls itching to sink their teeth into him.

The Saotome matriarch had only one fear, if rumor came out from their town about Ranma returning home, it would reach Genma, and that would have made things difficult since knowing Genma, he would try and force Ranma to come with him and fulfill another bogus idea...she had a feeling about that for some time, so she told her son to be careful for the time being. She knew from what she had seen in the holo-vids that Ranma was MORE than capable in dealing with it himself, but like a normal mother, she was NOT in the mood to have Genma ruin this time for her, she DID have twelve years to catch up on with her son...and no way was Genma spoiling them! That was why she had made...certain changes to her family name.

Her family had secretly met Ranma and were impressed at how the boy turned out. Her father Akira and mother Shizune Kasami agreed with their eldest daughter that to avoid Genma, they would have to change their names legally, and they too were happy that Ranma did NOT become like Genma at all.

Akira had at first disliked Genma, and was even more so, but her daughter made the choice to be married. He still wasn't proud of it, but his grand child had proven to be a real worthy man to call grand-son. He had no doubts in his mind that whoever would be a lucky woman to catch this boy...she would be VERY lucky.

Shizune had hoped that Genma would change, but she was wrong, but like her husband, she was happy her daughter had such a fine strapping lad as her child, and was NOT like his father. She was also happy to see how much Ranma loved his mother and could tell that if ever Ranma was married, he would be a real man to take care of his wife.

As Nodoka and Ranma got to the ship...she was impressed at the amounts of money the young man had acquired. He had explained that most of these were rewards he gained in hunting the Sith from the planets liberated by the Jedi and the Republic from the people there, plus he had been given wealth to help him in the war. There were piles of precious gold, platinum, high grade copper and other valuable metals, along with various gemstones by the bale. In essence, the amounts Ranma had to fund the war effort were enough to make him a multi-billionaire for life on Earth, but he knew enough about economics not to show too much his wealth, not only would it imbalance the economy of Earth, but attract WAY too much attention.

As they gathered only a handful of fire-facet gems and small diamonds, Ranma wondered if any of the people he knew and met back in the Known Galaxy were looking for him. 

-------------- 

Far away...in another galaxy... 

A small vessel with diamond smooth armour plating was cruising along the vast network of stars. The twin hyperdrive engines on it's sides made it look like a sleek shard of crystal.

A smaller version of the Nubian ship series was moving along and in it was a single occupant.

"Hmm...it's been so quiet lately." The figure said as she walked into the nearby lights.

The figure was that of a woman, normally like that of a female human, but the fact that she had deep blood red hair and pinkish skin set off that she was not totally human. Her hair was long and smoothly combed, reaching to the half of her back and was in a long mess of braids. Her eyes were deep purple, that along with her red hair and well formed features that would have made a supermodel jealous...along with her well formed figure and bosom...which were also shown well by her brightly colored blue, gold and green patterned suit that was skin-tight and had gaps in strategic areas, including the upper portion of her breasts, that showed a fair amount of her exotic and lush figure...

Added to that were the large amounts of pheromones she was sending out and it would be understandable if any normal male would go wild with desire looking at her...after all, she was a Zeltron.

Ly'sandra Sundyr smiled as she looked at the scanners of her Nubian ship. The ship was a bit smaller and less spacious than ships of it's design, but it made due with greater plating, speed, and shielding. Plus it suited the Zeltron warrior well...though she no longer was part of the Zeltros Defense Force, she was part of the scouting forces of the Republic Navy. Right now however, she had other plans in mind as she thought about a certain someone...

(Hmmm...I know you are here somewhere, my dear Jedi friend. I still owe you for saving my rear end on that planet out there in the Unknown Regions...and I do not forget those who helped me.)

Ly'sandra thought with a warm look as she looked at the nav-comm.

She smiled and bit and took one last look of her supplies and equipment and decided to go out and find her Jedi comrade from long ago...there was some history between him and her. 

(As you can see...one of Ranma's old acquaintances is on her way to him, care to guess the outcome?) 

--------------

The moving van drivers were now finished moving most of the supplies and items from the Saotome household, and they naturally asked if they would to loan a ride for Ranma and his mother a ride. But Ranma merely declined and so did his mother, saying that they had their own ride. This puzzled the drivers for a moment since to their minds, the Saotome family didn't own a car at all, but they decided that they would no doubt take either the bus or the train to get to Nerima.

Ranma and Nodoka had been able to pay almost all the debts of their family to those Genma had conned and swindled and this helped expel some of the bad nature of the Saotome name, and this helped them cement new relations with the people there. Naturally Nodoka convinced them to not spread out that the debts were paid, due to Genma who might come back and suspect something. Plus with the arrangements made by Nodoka...she knew that Genma would have a seriously difficult time in looking for them...hopefully enough to allow her and her son a chance to rebuild after the fallout of Genma's greedy antics.

As the trucks left the town, Ranma and Nodoka secretly boarded the _Ghost Warrior_ and made the preparations of pre-flight and were now flying over the mountains on their way to Nerima...with the ship's stealth mode active of course. 

-------------- 

Nerima... three hours later...

The truck drivers had arrived and were surprised that Nodoka and Ranma had arrived earlier, but deemed it the work of the efficient methods of the transport system of their country...Ranma and Nodoka didn't say anything and that was a lot better as they paid the truck drivers and began moving in their belongings. Imagine explaining that they came on an interstellar starship?

The house that Nodoka's parents had given then was spacious, a small manor that they owned as a retreat here in Nerima. It was similar to older style Japanese nobility households since Nodoka's family had a considerable number of ancestors who were merchants, noblemen, and samurai, attributing to Nodoka's expertise with the sword. Though over the years the Kasami family had lost portions of the prestige, they were still in fact a rich family, so it was hardly surprising why Genma married Nodoka, but Nodoka lived simply to enjoy life, though she had her inheritance, this estate being one of them. 

The manor had a small dojo/temple nearby, along with a supply house and a well. Inside, the home was strictly Japanese in nature and had few Western influences, most of the doors in the house were normal sliding doors, while parts had Western Stone-work. There were also electrical systems and basic light and heating. All in all, with the right additions and work, the small estate was very cozy. On the back was a massive valley hidden in forests, the perfect place for Ranma to hide his ship. 

As they settled into the manor, they began to settle in. 

-------------- 

Three to four days later...

"School?"

Ranma asked he put on his shoes and took his school bag.

"Mom, do I have to go to school? Considering all I've learned in my travels and times in the Academies in Coruscant and Alderaan, me going to school with kids my age on Earth would be like pitting a gizka against a vornskr."

Nodoka nodded with the idea. Having seen Ranma's records in his times of education in Alderaan, Coruscant, and other worlds he was nearly light years ahead of the teens his age, apparently his educational level would have already made him a contender for several doctorates in literature, poetry, history, culture, and art. But Nodoka had reasons for asking her child to return to education. 

"I am aware of that Ranma, but there are reasons I want you to go to school. One, you have been away from Earth these years and things are different here, those books I gave you twelve years ago are already too old for you rely upon, so you have to make up for the decade and two years you missed here on Earth." 

"Second, I want you to socialize with teens your age, and forgive me for saying so, your world, I know it sounds strange, but think about it, you have been with humans, humanoids, near-humans, and aliens for the past two years and decade of your life and out in the other parts of the galaxy no less, and your birth-world hasn't even reached the outer fringes of the solar system, but you have already, the things you have learned are NOT from around here, and you might act in a way that would send the wrong signals to others."

"Third, you have to know that you can't stay in the house forever, no one in this town knows that you are my son as of yet, and gossip will spread soon and that will make things hard to explain, plus it might make things harder for you, so it would be best for you to mingle with the crowd and show you are a normal teen with a normal life." 

Ranma thought about that and agreed with his mom's ideas, plus he had to be low profile, the last thing he wanted was to send signal flares to the world that Ranma Saotome was back in town, namely if his father got wind of it. Though the legal work his mother had done will be in effect now, he still wanted to make sure things were fixed so as to avoid being caught in the storm. 

"All right mom, I agree with you. So what school am I supposed to go to?" Ranma asked as he put on the last bit of his uniform and ate the last remains of his break-fast. 

"Furinkan High School. That is the only school open this semester and the only one I can send you to. I advise you to be at your best behavior son, and do make a nice impression."

Nodoka smiled as she packed her son's bento and kissed him good-bye.

Ranma also said good bye and waved at his mother and went on his way. Nodoka smiled and went to work as she cleaned the house and went to read the day's newspapers and check her mail, afterwards, she would train in her swordsmanship and also check on the results of her still growing doctorate piece on medicine.

Ranma was dressed in the normal uniform of Furinkan male students since his mother had picked the uniform for him a day before he was registered, and as he boarded the bus to the location of the school, he wondered why his Force Senses were telling him that he would have to be on his toes soon. 

-------------- 

As soon as he got off the bus he spotted the school he was supposed to go to today for his time to catch up for all the years he had missed. He suddenly felt a slight tremble in his danger senses and spotted a girl running with a grim expression on her face and she seemed to be getting ready for a fight. 

Who was that girl? 

He was about to get his answer... 

"AKANE! PLEASE GO OUT WITH ME!!!"

Several other cries came from the campus and Ranma looked confused as a horde of men dressed in various sports gear and carrying equipment attacked the girl in question. In the second she was close to them she began launching out punches and kicks and began to bash in the heads of all the boys trying to hit her.

Ranma looked on in confusion and decided that it was hardly his business since the girl was doing this on her own, though his training in the martial arts spoke to him saying the girl was merely using brute force and with no planning and finesse, even his Mandalorian comrades had a strategy in battle, this girl was merely throwing blows and hitting...those men were not even fighting back properly... 

But then again, the Horde of Hentai Brigade certainly didn't win points in the IQ department. 

Nabiki looked at the scene with her followers and the rest of the student body. This was one of the most common scenes in Furinkan High ever since Kuno had made that stupid declaration that the only way the boys in the school could date Akane was to beat her in a fight, due to that, this was becoming a daily occurrence, back then she had used this as a way to get money for the home...but this was also wearing down on a lot of people. She sighed as due to this same declaration, Akane had been the point of interest for all the boys, even the ones in the physics and chemistry clubs were having a go at it! That naturally left the girls with no date prospects. 

"Here we go again...I wonder how long Akane's going to take with this latest attack?" 

"Hey wait a minute...check out the new guy over there!" 

Nabiki listened and spotted Ranma as she looked at the new student.

"Hmm...not bad...not bad at all."

She said while looking at the way Ranma filled the uniform of the male students of the school nicely. 

"He must be the new student I heard about." 

"He's cute!"

"Cute?! Are you sure?! The guy looks like he could be a model! Look at him!"

As Ranma passed them all, he was suddenly sensing hostile intentions towards him and spotted a pack of boys attacking him, it became apparent that the bunch had gotten into their ferro-crete skulls that since he was a new boy, he would become competition for Akane's affections, go figure...

Ranma had no intention of being blindsided for no reason as he blocked a few blows and with Echani swiftness struck them out with some well paced blows and kicks. The bunch that attacked him fell like ten-pins hit by a bowling ball. Naturally this got some attention... 

"Wow, that was quick." Nabiki commented as she saw the whole thing...however she had a hard time seeing just how did the new kid win the small fracas...however, she knew that this would incur the wrath of the rest of the boys and she knew, that of her violent and temperamental sister as well. She then looked on as Ranma got into position as he was now being attacked by the hordes of perverts from the male section of the school. They were not going to stand by and have this guy take shots at getting Akane for his date... 

They had NO idea what they were getting themselves into...

Ranma didn't know WHAT was going on but his military mind took over and went into full combat mode. He assessed them all to be merely low level, emphasis on the phrase low level, combatants. While there were martial arts practitioners such as Judo, Karate, Jujitsu, Kempo, Kendo, Western Fencing, and Sumo, they were merely novices and were seriously going to regret this attack as he got into a neutral stance and went on to attack his foes.

Ranma still retained his training in Earth based martial arts, such as Karate, Kempo, Wushu, Tai Chi, Battou-jutsu swordsmanship, and Taekwondo, also his other methods were similar to that also of the martial arts methods and moves used by the Amazons, no doubt products of his time with Cologne and Shampoo. But he had taken OTHER forms of combat training.

To start with, he was already an accomplished user of Echani hand to hand combat, Mandalorian martial arts, Republican Basic Infantry and Spec Ops combat martial arts, Jedi martial arts from all his trainers, Iridonian martial arts, Sith Assassin moves from Atton, CQC training from Mira, Wookiee hand to hand combat from Zaalbar, minus claws mind you, weapons training, and several more unique styles he gained from the Zeison Sha, Matukai, and more...in effect the match that he was about to get involved in was comparable to a bunch of mad gizka taking on both a hungry AND irate vornskr!!!

The boys were introduced to a whole new level of pain and agony as Ranma struck them in body zones that spread out the most pain with kicks, elbow strikes, punches, and nerve strikes...they had bruises on parts of their body that created a symphony of pain that they never knew was possible!! Many of them either collapsed from the impact of his blows, were tossed aside, or were sent slamming into one another like dominos... The boys were being tossed around like chew toys that it got the attention of everyone, students and teachers, both on the ground and in the building.

(Wow...that guy CAN fight!!)

Nabiki thought as she looked wide eyed as the new guy went through the boys at an even greater pace than her sister Akane, while her sister was considered a Hurricane in these morning fights, this guy set the bar...he wasn't a hurricane...HE was a Super Tornado!!! He moved and fought as if Akane's best moves were nothing more than blows used by toddlers. And his moves were odd, but VERY effective as the boys were rendered into moaning and bruised heaps, their bodies black and blue in various shades of the said colors and bruises the size of apples were on them.

Even the self proclaimed 'Best Fighter' in Nerima was in shock as she watched this new guy turn her unwanted suitors into dog meat. 

(HOW THE HECK IS HE DOING THAT?!) 

When the fight stopped, Ranma hoped that he could finally breath easy and get moving to school AND figure out just WHAT was going on...however that was not happening anytime soon. 

"HEY YOU!" 

He turned and looked at a very angry girl. "Yes? Can I help you?" 

"YEAH!!! THIS WAS MY FIGHT SO DON'T GET INVOLVED YOU PERVERT!" Akane fumed, ready to pound the guy for any attempt he might try. 

(What is wrong with this woman? She's like a kinrath pup who didn't get to drink. She seriously needs to see a therapist for that anger issue she has. Maybe even see a medical droid for getting the boulder off her shoulder...) 

Before Ranma could figure out what was going on and try to calm the girl, another form came on the scene...a certain kendo uniform wearing nutcase who then spoke to him in a pompous air. 

"You there! How dare you not say your name to the beauteous Akane Tendo? Who might you be stranger?" Kuno Tatewaki said as he gazed at Ranma, considering him nothing more than a commoner. 

(Tendo? Why does that name sound familiar to me for some reason?)

Ranma thought as he looked at the kendo captain of the school. He could sense emotions and that told him that this guy had delusions of grandeur and superiority, bad combo, especially since this guy was not very talented...compared to him that is, he could tell that Kuno was a practitioner of kendo like his mother, but he was leagues behind his mother, and to him as well, due to his extensive training with the blade. He was a bit better than the girl named Akane Tendo who was looking at the new guy with irritation. 

"Well I..." 

"Halt! Is it not customary for one to give their name to the other? I shall give mine first so you can know and bow to me!"

Kuno took out a bokken and took a pose.

"I am the undefeated captain of this school's kendo club, the rising star of the high school fencing world! All my peers know me as the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!" To add to the effect, he took up his bokken as a lighting bolt hit from the distance. "Tatewaki Kuno, age seventeen." 

The students then began whispering to themselves. 

"Blue Thunder? That's a new one." 

"Yeah, he was called the Shooting Star last week." 

"I think the new guy's in trouble, Kuno and Akane are the best here." 

Ranma on the other hand was trying not to laugh.

(Blue Thunder?! Undefeated?! Rising Star?! Has this guy been chewing spice or what?! A granite slug has more brains than this nerf herder!)

He chuckled a bit and sighed. "All right then, now if you don't mind I'd like to speak to her..."

"WHAT?! YOU DARE TO SPEAK TO THE BEAUTIFUL FLOWER THAT IS AKANE?! HOW DARE YOU PEASANT?! I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!!! HAVE AT THEE!!!"

Ranma was getting tired of this, and decided to end this charade, he came here to learn the new history of his birth-world, not get involved with either a delusional nutcase with a wooden stick, and a woman with a strange temper problem.

He dodged Kuno's strike and pressed a nerve cluster on Kuno's arm, making him release the bokken, he then did the same to a set of nerves on Kuno's neck and then with a simple kick to the stomach sent the egotistical kendo fighter through several bushes and then into a pair of trees and he landed in a heap into the nearby trash dump bin. 

"I...fight..."

Kuno tied to say, but had nothing left to say...since a trash-can slammed on his thick head and knocked him out and the lid of the dump bin slammed on his head, knocking him out with a stupid expression on his face.

"You wish." Ranma said as he picked up his school bag and went on. 

The students were excited. 

"WOW!" 

"DID YOU SEE THAT?!" 

"HE TOOK OUT KUNO IN ONLY A SECOND!!!" 

"HE'S GREAT! HE CAN TAKE OUT KUNO LIKE THAT, SO HE'S BETTER THAN AKANE!!!" 

Nabiki was impressed, that guy took out Kuno baby faster than Akane ever could on a good day. This guy was interesting...she needed to learn more. 

Akane was also thinking about Ranma, but in a negative light.

(NO WAY! NOBODY IS THAT GOOD!)

She then had a thought and squashed it.

(NO! HE'S NOT BETTER THAN ME!! NO WAY!!!) 

-------------- 

Later... 

"Students...we have a new student this semester, please introduce yourself young man."

The teacher stood aside as Ranma took the floor and faced his fellow classmates. In order to hide more effectively, Ranma and Nodoka had to change their names, both first and last, only their family and a small few knew they were Ranma and Nodoka Saotome, mother and son. 

To the outside world...they were now... 

"Good day class-mates, My name is Koujima Yamatsu, you can call me Kou for short, nice to meet you all." The former Ranma Saotome said in greeting. 

They were now Koujima and Aya Yamatsu, mother and son.

As Koujima/Ranma sat down on the chair later…he got ready for his first day of class on his home-planet.

-------------- 

To be continued...

--------------

Author's Notes:

Well now…things in Nerima are about to get very interesting wouldn't you say? Ranma has just cleaned up the Saotome name, he is reunited with his mother and has learned the full extend of how Genma has used him as collateral. And things are certainly not going to get any easier once he tries to settle in and get used to living on his home planet…which had not stepped on for nearly a decade and two years.

He has now entered Furinkan High and had just made a heck of an impression on the student body…namely on a certain Tendo sister and a certain bokken wearing upper-classman. And it seems that a friend of Ranma's from his days in the Republic is now making her way to Earth…

And to really throw a monkey wrench into the works…the woman in question is a Zeltron!!!

Oh man, the men of Nerima are about to get one hell of a day once Ly'sandra sets foot on Earth…namely in Nerima…wait till the pheromones fly and watch the action as it unfolds before you're eyes.


	7. Everyday Life

Ranma / Knights of the Old Republic

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma or Knights of the Old Republic, I only use them for making stories.

Chapter 6

Everyday Life

( ): Thoughts

--------------

Koujima(Ranma) sighed as he munched on his bento while in the open park of Furinkan High, this had been one of the most...uh, well, interesting schools he ever had. Most of the time in the class room, he had to deal with various girls looking at him with dreamy expressions, with the exception of a certain short tempered girl.

He was getting used to his life here...and compared to his two years of trying to evade being caught by the Sith...and constantly fighting, this was kind of relaxing, he had made some friends, namely with a pair of guys named Daisuke and Hiroshi, it was through them that he learned that Akane was the one the whole male population was after.

Though why they were interested in her was beyond him. THAT question however was answered when he met Nabiki Tendo during Math Class.

--------------

Flashback...

"Hey Kou, How are you?"

Koujima was surprised to be facing the middle Tendo sister named Nabiki Tendo. He had not been totally familiar with everyone, but it seemed that everyone knew the Tendo sisters, apart from Akane...Nabiki was named the Ice Queen of Furinkan, apparently she was a bit of a mercenary, considering that she gathered information on a lot people, whether good or bad was anybody's guess, she reminded Ranma of the slicers he met in the Republic Intel Division in his time with Mission, when the Twi'lek was his mentor in the trade of intelligence gathering.

For now however, his Force sense didn't pick up any hostile intentions with her, and from her tone of voice, she seemed only to meet him. So why not?

"Hello, are you Nabiki Tendo?"

Nabiki nodded, slightly surprised that he knew who she was, but kept that hidden from him.

"Yes, I know I'm a little bit late, but I want to welcome you here to Furinkan High School."

Ranma smiled and shook hands with Nabiki.

"Nice to meet you Nabiki, this is a lot better than the greeting I got coming here."

He answered, recalling the sudden fight he got mixed into for no reason, just what happened to his planet while he was away?

Nabiki nodded, while trying not admire the fact that his hands were rough and hard, that meant this guy worked out a good deal.

"Well, stuff like that's very common place here in Furinkan, though we have Kuno-baby to thank for that actually."

"Really? You mean the overblown windbag with the ego and the toothpick for a sword?" 

Nabiki had the smile a bit, normally most guys would be intimidated by Kuno, due to him being higher up on the school social ladder, but after the quick display Kouji gave, it didn't surprise her that his opinion of the arrogant upper-classman was low. 

"Well, it happened this way..."

Nabiki then told Kouji about how Kuno started the whole thing with Akane being the target of all the hormonally charged boys in the whole school, and the rule was that if any of the boys would win and beat Akane, then he would have the right to ask Akane out on a date. And that meant that for the past three semesters, Akane had to deal with hordes of boys that were driven by their idiotic desires to follow Kuno's orders, no matter how absurd it was.

"...and that's why Akane's got a SERIOUS chip on her shoulders about boys. Ever since then she's always been busy pounding the guys in the school non-stop. It's weird and makes no sense at all actually, but there's not much a lot of us can do about it."

Kouji shook his head in shock at the sheer weirdness of the whole thing...During his time in the rest of the galaxy, there were plenty of things similar to that on some worlds he visited, not to mention there were some of his male Mandalorian friends who did that, he was also aware of warrior cultures with similarities to it...but the idea of getting beaten up constantly to merely go out on a simple date...that was just plain weird.

"I see, so how do the other girls feel about it?"

Nabiki felt a bit surprised about that...throughout the whole time, no one ever asked the girls that question before.

"Well...it's..."

"HEY! STAY AWAY FROM MY SISTER YOU PERVERT!!!"

-------------- 

End of Flashback... 

Koujima gave a shrug as he thought about Akane trying to accuse him of asking her middle sister perverted questions and trying to get into her unmentionables or another. That was a slap on his face but he calmed himself and let the girl rant all she wanted until she settled for merely glaring at him and stomped off.

(By the Force...what the heck is wrong with her?) 

Koujima sighed and looked as several other girls began to converge on him and ask him questions. And since they were nice and didn't act like a Boma beast was running up their rear access ways unlike a certain girl glaring at him, he answered them.

On the other side...

"Just look at him!!! What to the others see in that pervert anyway? I bet he can't wait to get into their panties!!"

Akane fumed as she glared at Koujima. She had earlier rambled at him, and expected him to do something that would allow her to pound him, she was dying for that to prove to him and herself that she was the beast fighter in the whole of Nerima and not him. But he merely didn't do anything and she got tired of shouting and left, still steamed up.

Nabiki sighed a bit.

"Now calm down sis, he just got here this day, you hardly know much about him."

Nabiki however thought to herself that she also had no idea just who Koujima Yamatsu was…he was a new mystery…and she liked mysteries.

(Neither do I, at least not yet that is.) 

"All I need to know is that he's a boy! All boys are perverts!!!" 

"Are you merely jealous that he's gaining attention from the others, and you're not getting any right now? Or that he could beat your suitors and Kuno like they were nothing but toys?"

Nabiki teased her sister slightly, though there was some truth to it, ever since the declaration, Akane had become a glory and attention seeking girl who also closed her eyes and ears to the truth.

"Hah! I've beaten them so many times now! He was just lucky and his victory over that idiot Kuno was a mere fluke! I'll show him what A TRUE martial artist is capable of!" Akane said with certainty as she cracked her knuckles.

(Oh boy..all those fight have finally gotten into her head and inflated her already overgrown ego.)

Nabiki sighed as she looked at her sister. She might not know martial arts and didn't practice as her sister did, but she was cool and collected, and very analytical...traits that martial artists also needed in fights. She might not be familiar with Koujima's fighting styles, but they were lethal and precise, unlike her sister who used brute force.

She was actually happy to see Koujima in their school, here was a guy who didn't bow down to either that jackass Kuno or her spoiled sister Akane...and the fact that Koujima was 6'0, well muscled, kind hearted, humble, but very strong, handsome, and tough was a plus! It was high time the two had their egos taken down a few pegs anyway in her mind.

Plus the mystery of Koujima Yamatsu was another matter, the hunky looks just added to that as Nabiki began to contact her allies in what information resources she had to find out more of Koujima's back-ground through her cell phone.

-------------- 

Later...

Nabiki then faced her friends and fellow snoops as they decided to see what they could gain from their new class-mate. Nabiki also wanted to check the rumor mills on how Kouji was being received by the rest of the school's population, since the large majority of the school's female population was always following him. Many female students were going to the nurse for treatment for running into walls, looking dreamily as they gazed at him, some even spilled either school supplies or whatnot whenever he would pass by them.

Unknown to them, Ranma (Koujima) and Nodoka (Aya), had made legal changes and these were now authentic...not to mention Ranma (Koujima) had done some security protocols of his own with his and his mother's personal records.

"Okay, what do we have about this Koujima Yamatsu...apart from the obvious?"

Ameki nodded and opened her folder.

"Well, he's a full Japanese citizen, he has a mother named Aya Yamatsu, and a father who passed away named Taka Yamatsu, a former international businessman, his mother is a working mother who is near to the completion of her doctorate in medicine. They lived once in Fuchu, but moved here in Nerima, in the family estate of the Kasami family since their respective families were close friends. The estate's at the outer areas of Nerima namely in the country, but also has access to all parts of Nerima and is near the ocean." 

Yumi also opened her folder.

"He's traveled with his mother to China, America, Britain, France, Africa, and Canada. He just recently returned from a personal vacation from Rome to continue his education here in Japan. He is a practitioner of Wushu, Tai Chi, Kempo, Karate, Taekwondo, along with Battou-jutsu as well...and he has participated in various martial arts tournaments and has trained with different masters of each martial art."

"And?" 

Both looked at one another and shrugged.

"And that's it." 

Nabiki looked surprised.

"That's it? Are you sure there isn't anything else?" 

Both girls shook her heads.

"Nothing at all, the records are authentic and our sources on the street says that he nor his mother were involved in anything that has compromised them in any fashion. No troubles with businessmen, corporations, underground fights...nothing. As far as we can see, Koujima has no record with the police...he's clean as clean can be Nabiki." 

Nabiki felt something a wee bit off...she certainly didn't buy that Kouji knew only those styles of martial arts alone, the other moves he used WERE not any martial arts she was familiar with, she may not practice, but she read books and saw diagrams of the moves, blows, patterns, and other signatures and Koujima's other skills DID not match any she had read. She liked mystery...and the fact that the mystery was wrapped up in a 6'0 tall frame with all the muscles in the right places and not over bulging, good manners, brains, and more was certainly a bonus! 

She then checked how much she and her friends had gained from selling pictures of Kouji until she decided to ask where the young man in question was right now...she had a feeling that neither Kuno or Akane would miss the chance to pound on Kouji.

"As far as I know...he is in the gym, and the Kendo club is there right now." 

Nabiki's brows furrowed a bit and smirked.

"Come on girls, I think we're about to see a very interesting match today." 

-------------- 

At the gym... 

Guess who's picking a fight with the wrong person today? 

Koujima gave a sigh as he held the bokken in one hand and looked at Kuno with an expression of irritation. 

"Do we REALLY have to do this?" 

He had done nothing more than go into the gym for his normal classes and was wearing his normal PE uniform and had gone there for his practice, though playing basketball wasn't his plan, he still decided to get into the spirit of things. He was actually starting to enjoy himself, despite the fact that two things were happening, many girls looking at him with dreamy expressions, while one girl looked at him madder than a Boma beast from Dxun, and since she was weaker than one, he paid her no mind... 

But naturally a certain airhead of a samurai decided to call him out in front of the class for a challenge. He was about to decline when Kuno made an insult to his sense of honor, and that his so-called victory was merely black sorcery and didn't count at all. Naturally, Ranma's years as a Mandalorian clan member had instilled a strong sense of honor in him and he was more than willing to cross blades with this nut. 

Once he got there, he wanted to see if this guy was REALLY serious, and from the sound and look of him...he was. 

"Yes! You're victory was nothing but a trick of foul sorcery, and hardly counts to me! Now you step in my domain of the sword, I will smite thee with me righteous fury!"

Koujima rubbed his forehead in exasperation.

(This guy REALLY needs to have his brain scanned...fine, if it's a fight he wants, then let's get to this fight.)

Around the mat, were the other members of the Kendo Club, along with the other clubs, and even those who had been present for Ranma to beat to pulp after they attacked him of all people, all of them were there, along with the girls who all looked on, as Nabiki arrived as well. They all crowded to see if Koujima was good with the bokken as Kuno was. Many of the girls watched this fight, hoping that Koujima would be all right. 

Akane smiled a bit, though she hated Kuno, she was willing to watch the dope as he would teach that pervert a lesson!

Nabiki on the other hand was ready to gather information from this match and maybe see if Koujima had the skills to be a Battou-jutsu user.

Kuno was going to enjoy showing this peasant the true power of his righteous wrath and why he was the finest warrior of the sword in this school...no, the district, no...the island, no...the country, no...the universe!!!

Unknown to all the watchers, Ranma had been practicing with various bladed weapons in his training days, all manner of blades from the Republic and the Unknown Regions, Ranma had been trained with them all. Vibroswords, vibroblades, Short Swords, Long-swords, Double Bladed Swords, Double Vibroswords, Staves, Stunners, Vibrodaggers, all of them...and naturally the lightsabers, all of their various forms known to the Jedi and the galaxy, Ranma had learned them, along with Battou-jutsu.

Like Jesse and Revan, he had knowledge of the styles involving lightsaber combat, and had varying levels of expertise in each, along with mastery. That meant he could juggle his chosen styles of lightsaber combat which ranged from basic Shii-Cho, dueling Makashi, defensive Soresu, acrobatic Ataru, offensive Djem So, balanced Niman, and the most difficult of all...relentless Juyo. Add to that the various blade combat styles he picked up with his Mandalorian friends, plus his travels and other masters...and that would mean that Kuno had just signed his death warrant had this been with steel weapons instead of wood.

Ranma decided that this will be the quickest fight in history and considering his skills, it might just well be as he got into a basic stance of his Mandalorian training, the one he modified with his use of Battou-jutsu. 

"Fine...ready when you are...this will be quick." 

Kuno laughed as he also got into the basic form of Kendo, having not recognized the stance Koujima was using and assumed that he knew nothing of kendo...this will be too easy! 

"Ready to fall to me?"

"Begin!" the referee shouted as Kuno charged...expecting this to be a quick match. 

Koujima merely charged in and waited. Kuno attacked and expected Koujima to be out with one swing...however, all he struck was air as Koujima merely moved in such a way that to others watching he was a blur and before Kuno could even do anything, Koujima's bokken lashed out with one quick motion and clogged him right on the neck, the blow was powerful enough to create a brief sonic boom and Kuno was sent sprawling into a metal basket of basketballs with a massive clang and he was hit by a falling stream of them and he fell unconscious, alive, but unconscious nevertheless.

(Ever saw the blow Kenshin gave Saito when he went Battousai on the back of the neck and head?, this was it.) 

The referee looked at Kuno in shock as he checked the kendo club captain out, and saw the bruise on the back of his neck, he was amazed that Kuno was still breathing, had that been done by a steel blade, then Kuno would have been beheaded!!! 

Koujima sighed. "I win." 

As he walked away, the rest of the male class gave a WIDE path for him to walk out of and only guys who came with him were Daisuke and Hiroshi, who began to chat with Kouji who smiled and talked back. 

Nabiki whistled at that and gazed at the stunned expression on her sister's face and that of Kuno as he was helped to his feet, and then she sighed.

"I guess that answers the question if he knows how to use a sword. Kuno-baby's lucky this was with bokken, from the way Kou moved and fought, had that move been done with a steel sword, Kuno would no longer be using his so-called brain to work in school activities since it would be gone. I think you had better be careful Akane. Ko's not a person to mess around with." 

Akane didn't say a word and that left Nabiki to wonder IF she was paying attention or did the warning merely go into one side by one ear and go out the other. 

(Care to guess?) 

-------------- 

Later... 

"Hi son, how was school today?" Nodoka asked as she greeted Ranma by the door of their house as he took off his shoes and greeted his mom with a hug. 

"Fine, but I didn't know that the only way to ask a girl out on a date was to beat her in combat...did you and...dad do that? Or is this a new thing that happened while I was away mom?"

Ranma asked as he went to the other side to change. 

Nodoka was surprised at that.

"No...why would any woman or man subject themselves to that outlandish and quite frankly unrealistic venture anyway?" 

"I ran into that at school this morning. I'll tell you at dinner, and the food smells real nice mom, you need any help with the cooking?."

Ranma asked as he hung his school bag and took out his outer uniform. 

"No dear, I'm already done, come here and tell me about this while we have dinner, and if you have any homework, please finish it." 

"Yes." 

Later, both son and mother chatted about his day at school while having a normal Japanese dinner and Nodoka was surprised at what she had learned about the boy named Kuno, and his recent actions towards her son. A part of her wanted to give the teen a piece of her mind...but she knew her son was more than capable in that regard, and she knew that despite his actions, Ranma would never do something evil. Ranma himself promised that and he would never break a promise...especially to his mother. He then finished his home-work and began his duties of scanning the rest of the neighborhood and also tracking local and international communications and media to keep track of things in his ship the _Ghost Warrior _and also see if any ships from the Sith or anywhere else had arrived in the system...so far none. 

The only regret Ranma had on this day was that he learned that Ukyo had gone on a break with her father back to where they had met to finalize the last mortgage payment. He wanted to talk to Ucchan and make peace with her...though he wondered if she knew that he had left and his mother and him had gone into hiding? 

-------------- 

Fuchu...

"She's gone where?!"

A young man in a school uniform asked as he looked at the young couple who were now residing in the house he had visited. They were replying back as the youth had asked them about a certain woman who used to live in this neighborhood. He came to see her one more time to settle an old score when she came here and heard some girls gossiping a few hours before... 

"Yes, she's gone to Nerima and with that young man...I think is her son or what."

The woman replied while the man nodded.

"They were very close and I think that they were related since he acts as if she was his mother. Why are you asking?" 

The youth sighed. "Nothing, just some details I have to work out, do you know their address by any chance?" 

The man shook his head. "How can we? But the moving company might know where they live, you can ask them there." 

As the youth left, the couple looked at him and decided to leave it up to him what do when he found the former residents of this house. The one thing that they found odd for the young man who was rather cute was the bandolier and large metallic item he hand on his back. Why would a guy carry so many spatulas and a rather large one on his back? 

Ukyo looked into the night sky and looked at an old picture of hers, the picture of happier times, with her father and her only male friend and playmate...Ran-chan. 

But those days were ruined...and now all she had was the desire to pay back the one she had once called friend! She put aside the picture and took out her spatula and cut a small trash-can into two with one swing. She cried a bit, but wiped away her tears as she walked back to meet her father for their return to Nerima. 

"Ranma...I will FIND you and my revenge will be over!" 

-------------- 

To be continued...

--------------

Author's notes:

Well so much for Ranma…or rather Koujima's first days in Furinkan…he is getting used to be the center of attention, both from amorous female students, and from two really pissed off students. And he now has to deal with all the new things that have happened to Earth for the past twelve years. He still has to balance it all off with keeping watch over the earth just in case the Sith show up.

However…it seems that he's about to get a visit from an old friend with an axe to grind on him…how's he going to deal with Ukyo when they meet?


	8. Complications

Ranma / Knights of the Old Republic

Disclaimer: Exactly how many times have I done this? Ah well…I don't own either Ranma or KOTOR, they belong to their respective owners and companies.

Chapter 7

Complications

( ): Thoughts

--------------

Furinkan High…three days later

Koujima was busy listening to the teacher on the topic of World History, namely on the Medieval Period of Europe after the Fall Of the Roman Empire. He was busy gathering notes and listening, while hearing AND sensing the sighs and emotions being radiated at him by many students, most, if not all were from female class-mates...though he could tell that one was STILL steamed at him, no doubt from the events from this morning. 

Was it really necessary for him to do it when there wasn't a reason anyway?

-------------- 

Flashback... 

The fights were on as usual, but this time, Kouji didn't get involved and stayed away, and so did the boys from Kouji, it had already been established that attacking Kouji was a death warrant for the boys after being beaten up by him AND seeing him nearly take Kuno's head off with a bokken, which they knew now, that had it been with a steel blade, the insane kendo fighter would have been literally beheaded. That already sent a signal for the boys that this new guy WAS off limits.

However, it became apparent that a certain tomboy didn't listen to the unspoken declaration as Akane...after beating up the boys after training with more practice dummies back at the dojo of her family, Akane felt ready to give the boy a REAL challenge from a REAL martial artist, she had enough of the girls and her fellow class-mates calling Koujima a hunk and a great guy, why can't her fellow female class-mates see him for who he was in HER eyes...a pervert! Why drool over THAT guy?! 

"Hey you!" 

Koujima wondered just what she wanted this time. He was early by twenty minutes...and wanted to learn about history once more...but then he was called out.

"Yes? What is it Miss Akane?" Koujima asked politely, hoping that there would be no need for violence. 

He wasn't adverse to fighting women, not in the least, his sparring with Bastila and Brianna before and after they had recovered from childbirth, along with Mira, Visas, Atris, Juhani, Mission, many of his Jedi female friends, his female Mandalorian clan members, and others had taught him that women deserved respect and acknowledgement, but his warrior training told him that Akane Tendo was only a low level Kempo Fighter.

He had learned enough about Akane's father who was Soun Tendo, who also turned out to be his father's close friend and training partner when they were under a man named Happosai for training. The old man in question was not present and that was a good thing, and the same with his dad.

But what troubled him was that Akane had good chances as a fighter, but her father had refused to train her in the higher fighting forms and naturally contributed to her low fighting levels, plus what he heard about Soun added to that, in the past, he had been a good fighter and master and had many students in his dojo, therefore supporting his family, and his daughters, the eldest being Kasumi, the middle and youngest daughters he knew as the cool headed Nabiki, and the temperamental one in front of him, Akane.

But according to what he gathered, Soun's wife died and ever since her death, Soun has been emotional and a cry baby, thus contributing to the decline of students and eventual lack of a new source of income for the Tendo family, with Soun's samurai pride forbidding him from getting support. He decided to see if he could at the very least do something, he had no bias with Akane or her family.

He however did not like Soun, sure grief was a normal emotion, but that can only go so far! He didn't think in cruel terms, but why didn't he honor his wife by being a responsible father? That meant working again as a teacher of martial arts and allow his daughters that chance to grow up and view the world. He knew that NO student would ever respect a sensei like Soun, and naturally protecting his daughters is normal, but not to the point that they can't become stronger on their own at times…it just didn't make sense at all. Not to mention pride can ONLY take you so far until it becomes a chain than an aid.

-------------- 

Back to the present...

"I challenge you here and now! One on one!" Akane shouted as she got into a fighting stance on her school.

(Did I just hear that right?)

"Wait, why do you want to fight me anyway?" Koujima asked in a confused state as he looked at Akane in confusion.

"Simple...I want to show you how a true martial artist fights! I'll fight you and see just how good you are. I don't care if you've beaten them all..." She pointed to the mess of boys in the walk-way. "...they don't know martial arts anyway and so I'm not surprised you beat them all the first time you came here... I'll even let you use ALL your moves, and I'll use mine...sound fair?" 

Koujima shook his head.

"Sorry, but that's one challenge I'm not taking up, I didn't come to Furinkan to pick fights Miss Tendo."

Koujima said as he went on.

"Why? Afraid I'd beat you?" Akane taunted.

The rest of the school gathered as they looked at both Koujima (Ranma) and Akane. Nabiki was also there, and she was not liking this a bit, though she was still making money out of it and wondered what Koujima's response would be to this one

(I can't believe Akane's actually called Koujima out...oh boy, this will really be a serious situation.)

The middle sister thought as she looked on.

"No...I'm not afraid, I just don't want to fight you because I don't feel like it's needed, and you're still a novice." 

THAT got Akane's attention...HARD 

"NOVICE?! LISTEN UP YOU BOY!!! I AM THE BEST MARTIAL ARTIST HERE IN NERIMA!!!" 

"You don't need to shout, that's hardly a good lady's way of settling things. I do know martial arts, and I tell you that you're skill levels are too low for me to fight with you, it would be a serious mis-match."

Koujima said as he faced Akane as time was running out for the bell to ring to start the first period of class. 

(Ouch, while that's true...I think Akane's not going to wait anymore. )

Nabiki thought as she saw the look of fury in Akane's face. 

"TAKE THIS!!"

Akane's temper was on all time high, if he won't take her seriously, then she might as well pound him in like the pervert he was and show HIM how a REAL martial artist fought. 

She launched a few kicks and punches, which Koujima dodged easily, as he sighed.

"See? You're not even moving fast enough, you strike as if I'm going to just stand here and get hit by you. Do better..." 

"WHY YOU!!!!" 

The dodging and attacking went on for a few more seconds until Koujima struck back...and the results were both painful and NOT pretty. 

Akane attacked with a round house kick to the head but Koujima blocked it with ease and lashed out a soft kick to her stomach, but the blow was powerful in the sense of his twelve year training...the force was enough to make Akane bend down like an accordion! 

She landed on her knees and groaned in pain, she then stared at him and shouted with pain in her voice.

"You blasted coward! You cheated, I wasn't ready!!!"

On the other hand, she was shocked, it looked like a weak kick, but it felt like she had been punched by a mallet in the guts!!! 

(She's got to be kidding.)

"That blow was just a warning shot, I am warning you to change your mind Miss Akane, I have no quarrel with you so stop this foolishness, and need I remind you I DID NOT start this mess, you did...so deal with it properly." 

"SHUT UP AND FIGHT ME!!!"

Akane then punched at Koujima until he caught it and used an Echani nerve strike to incapacitate her arms and with before he could stop himself, he aimed at a body zone due to his training under both Brianna and Visas.

The blow had knocked Akane backward be a few feet and before she could stand up...her body began to PAINFULLY lock up like it had been placed in a vice!!! And with that Koujima finished the last blow with a spinning heel kick to the side of the hip that sent Akane into a nearby pool of water...soaking her up like a drowned cat. 

(Whoops! I think I overdid it!!!)

Koujima was surprised a bit, hoping that the girl was happy now...

-------------- 

End of Flashback... 

Akane was naturally late and forced to stand out the hall with a pail of water, and that was before she had her body PAINFULLY re-aligned since the blow to the body zone in question had caused her nerves to seize up and cause her bones to suddenly retract and painfully lock up...thankfully the move didn't kill, but incapacitate her and she recovered...AFTER missing two classes and three hours. To add to that was that it took only two seconds for Akane to be publicly beaten and humiliated in front of the whole school...so it was hardly a surprise that the Tendo sister was itching to beat Koujima up as soon as she could. 

Unknown to others, Ranma (Koujima) had learned enough from Brianna to know how to knock out people without killing them. HAD he been seriously pissed off, Akane would not have been knocked out...she would have been confined in the ICU.

As his training with Brianna had shown him, Koujima (Ranma) had learned the way Echani viewed combat, and that it was communication, his moves were of reason and restraint, since he didn't critically injure the girl, but her moves were of unrestrained anger, disgust and arrogance...bad signs to him and to any Echani warrior, Akane was not only violent, but uncoordinated, foolish, arrogant, and most of all...too self centered. These were undesirable qualities and should be controlled. But this wasn't his concern for now...he had to do his classes. 

He had no idea that in the next hour...a certain pair of new arrivals were coming to his location...One was coming from a home in Nerima... 

And the OTHER was now arriving...but NOT from any part of Japan or the world...AND certainly wasn't HUMAN either. 

-------------- 

An hour later... 

Ukyo looked at the newly acquired picture and looked at it while she tried to track down Ranma. While there, many of the male students of Furinkan had called her and greeted her cautiously, none of them were aware of the whole story of Ukyo's life so they were not aware that 'he' was actually a she. For now however she had other fish to fry as she would finger her giant spatula on occasion as she thought about finally getting the chance to beat Ranma to a pulp. 

The picture had Nodoka and Ranma in the picture, and while the mess had been sorted out by her father and Ranma's mother, Ukyo wanted to find Ranma and pound him for all that she had endured for the past twelve years ever since they left. In a way she just wanted to vent out her frustration and anger and now was a good a chance as any to do that. 

It was then that she spotted a band of people...mostly girls staring at a single direction, and when she looked at them...they all had adoring looks on their faces and she was getting even more curious. 

"Hey, what's going on?" 

The girls didn't answer as Nabiki came over to Ukyo. "Don't mind them Ukyo, they're having a fun time gazing at our new arrival a few weeks ago." 

Ukyo had a sneaking suspicion and since Nabiki knew just about everyone she decided to ask.

"Who would that be Nabiki?" 

"Koujima Yamatsu...I'll tell a bit about him before you see him. He wiped the floor with the bunch of boys that attack Akane in a few seconds, first time he came here, beat up Kuno-baby at the same time, and after that, nearly broke Kuno's neck in a kendo match, the shortest one in history if I might add, and then pounded Akane like paste just this morning." 

"Hmmm...popular guy then." Ukyo said as she finally saw Koujima, and knew, just somehow knew that the boy known as Kouji was Ranma. Her eyes narrowed and she was sorely tempted to pound him with her spatula and make him suffer what she had gone through...but she didn't, at least until she knew if he still remembered her. That way she could finally be sure.

"Well...I'll be there at my usual spot making okonomiyaki again, been a while since I made some."

-------------- 

Later... 

Koujima then felt a feeling of apprehension hit him, along with slight tingle in his Force Sense...something or someone familiar was coming into the area. He wondered what it was but suddenly smelled something delicious...and that was something VERY familiar to him...so familiar in fact that it brought up an image of his childhood friend who made food like it for him when they were still kids. 

(Can it be?) 

He looked over when he spotted several other students move what appeared to be a grill, and from the way it looked, it was the kind that had a hot cooking surface. The ones used by chefs who cooked in restaurants and even cooking...

(Okonomiyaki...)

Koujima knew just who cooked it in that fashion and why the smell was so familiar to him. It was Ukyo...

He got up from his books and walked over and just as he looked, he spotted young man who appeared to around his same age...along with that was the fact that he wore a modified blue uniform and pants, making it known that he was a student, along with that were a bandolier of spatulas on him and a giant one on his back. Many students called him Ukyo, and acted as if the person was a guy. 

To Ranma however, there was no denying the fact that this was his childhood friend Ucchan...and due to his senses, namely his Force Sense, he had little to no trouble in recognizing Ukyo's true gender despite her get-up...not to mention the fact that his mother DID tell him that Ukyo was a girl. He decided to see if he could speak to her, but he also knew better than to talk to her like a woman, from what he could sense, she was not in a good mood.

And Ranma was right on the target board as he was spotted by Ukyo...her eyes narrowed a bit as she served some more okonomiyaki to her fellow class-mates. She tried to keep to her original plan of testing him to see if he recalled her, but the anger she had for twelve years was getting on her so much that she was starting to feel the urge to just flat-out challenge him.

As he got closer, Ranma's eyes widened bit by bit as he gazed at Ukyo.

(Wow...Ucchan's so cute...how the heck could I have been dumb enough to not know that my close friend was a girl?!)

He had seen a lot beautiful women in his twelve years, but Ukyo was not too bad, after all, when they were kids, he thought, back when he thought she was a boy like him, that he would be a handsome guy when they were older. Looking at her also allowed him to pick up the emotions she was radiating, there was no doubt in his mind that she knew him ever since she looked at him...and the feelings of anger he was picking up were getting stronger as he was getting closer. 

As soon as he got there, Ukyo was cooking a rather large piece of okonomiyaki and looked at him.

"Hello...you must be the new student here, you're Koujima Yamatsu, right?" Ukyo asked while smiling...which naturally didn't fool Ranma since his Force Sense told him about the restrained anger Ukyo had directed at him.

"Yeah, that's me...you know, I heard about you, you're Ukyo Kounji, right?"

"Yes. That I am, why do you KNOW me? Have we met before, like when we were kids?" The okonomiyaki chef asked pointedly, to see a reaction, if he KNEW what she meant. 

Koujima (Ranma) got the hidden message and replied. "You remind me of someone who had the same name...one of my CLOSEST friends when we were kids." 

Ukyo's eyes were patient, but her anger was getting hotter and this time she was right, he did remember her, and therefore recalled the yattai cart incident that left her and her father out of a means of income for the past years, she had worked hard as did her father to pay for the costs of getting a new cart and making enough money to keep their home intact, not to mention to pay for food, water, basic utilities, and the like.

She and her father had been suffering for the past eleven years and she had managed to calm herself when she faced Nodoka, who at the very least helped repair the damage by helping pay for half of their needs, allowing to make the final payments and hopefully alleviating their financial status, but Ukyo wanted Ranma to pay for all those years, she had been so humiliated by his actions and had been insulted for nearly all her growing up years, and had to promise NEVER to be interested with boys... 

Now it was time for her to make him PAY!! 

"I see...well, have this, and if YOU want to TELL me about it. then meet me at the back of the school, okay?" 

She then handed the okonomiyaki to Koujima and said that she had to prepare for a special meeting with an old acquaintance...that puzzled the others as she left, but they didn't have to wonder long as Koujima gave a sigh and looked at the item and then walked away.

They thought it was nothing until Nabiki Tendo spoke to one of her underlings to state that there was going to be a fight between Ukyo Kounji and Kouji Yamatsu. 

And due to his situation, the young Jedi Knight had no idea that he was being watched and his Force Sense had not warned him in time.

-------------- 

Nabiki had been at Ukyo's stand and had seen the exchange with the two, provided she knew little of the two's actual history, but the waves of anger that Ukyo radiated at Koujima made the middle Tendo sister VERY curious as to what was going on between the two. It was normal to her that Akane and Kuno would attack Koujima, due to the respective incidents of humiliation that they endured at the hands of the relative new-comer...but an issue between one of their school's armed combatants AND him the very second they met certainly begged for attention to the middle sister.

As far as she knew on record the two had NEVER met, but the two acted as if they knew each other very well. 

It was further compounded by the fact that the okonomiyaki Ukyo handed Koujima had a message in black food dye on it and it read: 

_**It's been a LONG time Koujima...or should I say Ran-chan? You have no idea how long I've waited to find you and make you pay for all those years you left me by the side of the street. Today, at the back of Furinkan High, an hour from now...you and I will settle what you owe me. If I win, then I get my revenge and make you PAY...and If you win...then my revenge ends and I will forget my grudge...but I will never forgive it.**_

_**You're...friend...Ucchan.**_

That got Nabiki's attention a good deal.

(Why would Ukyo call Koujima Ran-chan? Isn't his name Koujima, that's what the records show in his entrance to Furinkan. What happened between the two all those years ago for Ukyo to have such a long grudge anyway?)

The mystery surrounding Kouji Yamatsu just got even MORE interesting!!!

--------------

Later that day…

As the rest of the Furinkan High School students gathered to witness this latest match, many of them...including the Jedi Knight in their midst had not realized that a ship was just entering their atmosphere at considerable speed, and with it's own special cloaking systems and ion engine emissions, it was hardly surprising that many didn't think to wonder what it was, let alone KNOW about it. 

-------------- 

Japan Air Traffic Control Tower, Tokyo International Airport...

"Hmm...that's odd." A young radar operator said as she scanned a appearing and disappearing blip on her radar screen.

"Something wrong?" The supervisor came to his subordinate and looked at her radar display.

"Just something weird sir, an unregistered blip on the radar, no transponder or ID signature." 

"Hmmm..."

The two of them watched as the blip suddenly disappeared as if it never existed, as they checked the instruments again, they found nothing wrong, and decided to have maintenance run a check. The radar operator sighed and decided that since she had been at her post for three to four hours since eight this morning, maybe the computer played a trick on her eyes. Not to mention it was possibly a flock of birds, migrating bird groups had a notorious reputation for flying in such large numbers that they appear as blips on radar. 

-------------- 

The 'flock' in question however appeared as a silver shard of metal and landed on a nearby hidden valley outside if Nerima's city area... out from a nearby ramp that came from the ship and out came Ly'sandra in her favorite outfit for the trip, namely a tank-top of comfortable Shimmer silk dyed black, and with red Lashaa silk lining, the tank-top also had in it's neck collar that had a single green crystal, a crystal handed by Ranma as a gift for her in one of their missions. The large gap in the upper part of the bodice also showed the exposed upper portions of her well formed breasts and since the halter top covered only her chest, if you discount the fact that her bust threatens to burst forth that is, it also showed her well formed abs and curves.

Her arms were also showed with a pair of soft leather gloves that covered her hands and a bracelet with gold and jewels was clipped on her left arm.

Her hips were sinfully curved and her legs were also encased in black Shimmer-silk, with the sides having criss-cross designs that showed the skin her long and sensual legs in a set pattern in a way that spelled danger to any house wife in fear of losing her husband to the sultry and downright sensual Zeltrons, and Ly'sandra had quite the track-record.

(If you've played KOTOR 2, and you've been to Nar Shaddaa, then you've met the Twin Suns, the female Twi'lek Bounty Hunters, and you can imagine that's what Ly'sandra is wearing right now.)

But the only one male she hadn't seduced was her Jedi friend no matter how close she came to doing so on many occasions, but she had a respect for Ranma and she did love to tease him...not to mention...she did have feelings for the young and handsome Jedi at seemed to make her wonder if it would be... 

Ly'sandra smirked and decided to drink a special chemical to alter her skin tone to take on a more human countenance and color, that of a light tan...now making the flame haired Zeltron female look like a human female, the chemical was good for twelve standard days and was non-lethal, almost like wine and non addictive either, only well trained individuals and Jedi could spot the difference. 

The disguised Zeltron female took out her small hidden blaster and hid it in her nearby pack on the side of her belt and then activated the cloaking system of her ship and headed for a nearby bus station and spotted the incoming transport to town. 

(I wonder if this really backward Unknown Region world is where Ranma really grew up? Ly'sandra thought as she got some gold and jewels to pay for her trip into town. Finding him here will be a real interesting challenge.)

Ly'sandra got up the bus and as the bus left, it was hardly surprising when the bus began to shake like a boiling pot with water coming out as the other riders of the bus saw the disguised Zeltron female. 

--------------

Meanwhile...back at the school... 

(Wow, Ucchan came prepared this time.)

Koujima thought as he gazed at the ring he was in, namely when he studied the ring itself. The ring looked normal, but there was some cooking gear nearby and his Force Sense told him that the outer rims were not black because of black cloth, but were that of a metallic cooking skillet. If he touched them, he'd be burned.

Nabiki also noted that and then took out an egg and cracked it. Before Akane could ask what that was for, she saw it as the egg was cooked.

"Oh boy...if Koujima tries to step on this and any part of his body touches it, he'd be burned. The entire thing's one giant okonomiyaki grill"

Akane smiled. "Serves him right! About time somebody beat him up!"

Ranma heard that and wondered WHAT was wrong with the youngest Tendo for her to be so hostile to boys anyway? He put that out of his mind and looked at Ukyo as she was dressed in her cooking attire/battle uniform. Her spatula was ready in her hands and several of the smaller ones were ready for use. The one thing that bothered him was why in the name of the Force did no one in the school know she WAS a she anyway?

Just by looking at her in her full outfit, he could tell she was a girl, and since she was a long-time friend he was NOT in the mood for violence between them.

"Look, I don't think we..."

SWIPE!!!

Kouji ducked as the spatula tried to hit him. Ukyo however was dead set on finishing this fight and getting her revenge and that she was more than willing to use her full arsenals.

"I think talking's already out of the question Koujima, fight me instead!"

The fight progressed as Ukyo tried to swing and cut Koujima into two since her spatula had a sharp edge on it and she was VERY intent on introducing Ranma to it intimately as she swung and stabbed at him.

Koujima tried to think of a way to reason with his long time childhood friend without fists being launched at first, though it went against Mandalorian tradition where they fought back, Ranma was a Jedi as well, and Ukyo's anger was very much understandable since after learning the truth from his mother about Ukyo it had been hard for him to think on hurting Ucchan, so he reverted to his Jedi training in diplomacy, and wondered if he could resolve this peacefully.

Not to mention the fact that he had noted that Ukyo was somewhat Force Sensitive...just like Shampoo. The Force Aura would explain why he was very eager to be her friend when they were kids since he felt comfortable a good deal around her, but back then he didn't know that Ucchan was a girl. The Force Sensitivity would also explain why she had been able to be this good with her spatula for the past twelve years since he had to work a bit on dodging the bladed weapon.

She then tossed several smaller spatulas and they too were razor sharpened and Kouji had to dodge them and while moving about, yet to make a blow of his own. his naturally got the attention of Nabiki. 

(Why isn't Koujima retaliating? Most of the time I've seen him, if he's attacked, he would fight back, but with Ukyo, he merely dodges and blocks...why is it he acts as if he doesn't want to hurt Ukyo?)

But before Koujima could try to reason with Ukyo, she had a plan in her mind as she tossed a special amount of batter at him with her spatula.

"Here! I just made this recipe...hope you LIKE it!" 

Koujima ducked the attack but suddenly found his feet suddenly held by the stuff. "What the heck?! This isn't ordinary okonomiyaki batter is it?"

He directed the question at Ukyo has he tried to free himself.

"Right you are...this IS ordinary batter of my own make, with rubber cement of course! Now how about you have some extra helpings of my works eh, usually I don't mix these with my cooking, but these should keep you still!!!"

Ukyo suddenly fired Yakisoba noodles around Koujima's arms and managed to drag him to the ground while trying bash to death with her spatula.

Throughout the whole time this was happening, Koujima (Ranma) was beginning to wonder just what he should do, the anger Ukyo was radiating was strong and had good reason to be directed at him but his desire to defend himself was getting to him and now he decided that the best way to reason with her was to take the fight out of the ring before he used his warrior training and really get back to the fight as his own temper was getting hotter.

As he dodged the last attacks, he was finally able to get free when Ukyo suddenly threw packs of tempura at him and his sensitive nose picked up the smell of Gun-powder. He didn't panic as he allowed the Force to calm him.

Ukyo smirked as she looked at the cloud as the sounds of gun-powder ended. "Hmmm...that's done, now all I have to do is merely clean up."

Akane was cheering and many of the guys and girls wondered if Koujima had met his match. Nabiki however wasn't convinced, she had seen a change in Koujima's face the moment he got up and got covered, he wanted that to happen. 

(He has a plan...) 

"Hah! Show that pervert!!" 

The cheering however was cut short as Ukyo was suddenly grabbed by her own noodles in the hands and before she could do anything she was dragged into the cloud with a yelp. 

"What the?!" 

The dust cleared at a second and Koujima appeared with a VERY hardened expression on his face as he restrained Ukyo with her own noodles.

"I think it's high time we took this outside Ukyo.." 

But as they were about to leave, Ukyo growled as he whispered in her ear. "I think we need to talk Ucchan...and here is not a good place."

Before anyone can say anything, Koujima left the ring and leaped away...leaving the rest of the students wondering just what the heck had been going on between those two. Nabiki however had a very sneaky idea and moved away to track them. 

-------------- 

Later...

Ly'sandra got out of the bus and she blew a kiss to the occupants, all of whom were members of a college basketball club, all of them were drooling and begging for her to stay with them to their game, making many cheerleaders leave THEIR marks on the players.

Ly'sandra laughed a bit to herself and sighed, at least the guys were kind enough to let her ride and keep some of her money, she decided to find some suitable quarters and supplies while she was looking for Ranma. And it seemed that she would never run out of helpers.

Men were now divided into two categories the second they spotted the Zeltron woman.

Group A.) They were beating each other for looking at the HOT redhead. 

Group B.) They were falling head over heels on themselves and others in trying to get her attention. 

"Miss!!! What's your name?!" 

"You live here?!" 

"What's your favorite food?!" 

"Do you have a boy-friend?!" 

Like Ly'sandra had used her form and pheromones to get a free ride, she got free information and she smiled and spoke, and the men were falling over themselves to help her out. This was her way to get information and it worked, but she knew better than to get into too much trouble as wives and girl-friends were already looking at her with jealous, murdering glares, and giving their respective husbands/boy-friends the warning smack. 

As much as the Zeltron female was having fun turning heads and igniting libidos, she had a friend to find. But she certainly was going to enjoy this situation for all it was worth as she walked away in her usual sassy and sexual manner, that along with her form, dress, and pheromones were enough to start a riot as men were following her like rabid dogs in heat...which they were right now anyway. 

One thing was apparent...there was going to be A PLAGUE of swollen cheeks with red hand marks tonight in Nerima as slaps were heard all over town...along with OTHER sounds of physical torture. 

--------------

Ranma/Koujima looked around as he leaped from the area of the previous match, he arrived on the other side of the nearby storage shed and decided to drop Ukyo there and then used the Force to unbind Ukyo from the noodles, by breaking the bonds on the molecules of the noodles.

In that instant Ukyo tried to swat him with her spatula but he blocked it and gave her a glare.

"I'm getting very tired of you attacking me Ucchan...I KNOW about what happened to you all those years ago, from my mother."

Ukyo glared once more and with considerable effort yanked the spatula out of his grip, that been merely strong enough to stop the weapon in the first place.

"Shut up you jerk! How could you KNOW everything?! Do you know what it's like to hear the girls who you live with whisper that you're fiancée ran out on you?! Do you know how that feels?! Every day I had to live with how you left me on the road...and you took the only source of income my family had...we had to work even harder to gain a new cart...and even more so in order to live...how could you possibly KNOW?!"

Ranma had to block and dodge again as she tried to take him down. "But I thought that my mom helped pay for that part, at least partially...why then are you still so hell-bent on beating me up? How was I supposed to know about marriage when I was merely six years old?! And how could I have ever known you were a girl?" 

"You're mom DID help me and my dad! But can you even think that I can just walk away from all those years, twelve years of being called the jilted girl who can't find a husband? You have no idea what that life was like!" 

Ranma sighed, he wondered if there was something he could do. And decided to just talk, but not before blocking her last attack and stunning her with an Echani nerve strike to the arms. 

"I know...I'm sorry, I know that I can't really say I know anything about what you went through for twelve years Ucchan...but I am sorry for all you had to go through." 

"Fine! You're sorry!!! So what do you plan to do now?!" 

"Well...for one thing. I want to know if you've looked in a mirror lately, because whoever said you couldn't catch a guy must be blind."

Ranma said with a smile as he used a bit of the Force to bring some feeling back to Ukyo. 

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

Ukyo fumed as she got ready to clobber Ranma once more. 

"Cause you look cute...a bit more so when you're angry."

Ranma said with a smirk, a simple and honest smirk.

Ukyo was already recovered and had her spatula in hand, but suddenly dropped it at the comment and blushed a bit.

"Are you trying to get me to stop creaming you?! I am not cute!"

She said as she glared at Ranma.

"You are...seriously, had I known you would grow up to be such a cute woman, I'd have changed my mind and stayed."

Ukyo blushed even harder.

"Am I really...?"

"Yep...and now, you look even cuter when your blushing."

"Stop it! I...I...I'm not cute."

"That is one thing I'm not lying about Ucchan. Look...I know that I was young and I knew nothing about you for real, but if you want to...I want to make it up to you, for all the bad things you went through, can I try and make you feel better in some way?"

Ukyo smiled a bit. Ran-chan sounded very sincere...and there was a feeling that maybe they could start over. 

"I was wondering I could be...your fiancée again?"

Ranma sighed and replied.

"Well, that's not entirely what I had in mind, but don't get me wrong either. I just want you to get to know me again I mean, I haven't been back for twelve years and so have you. I also don't want to bind you to a promise we were not all that ready for. I want to get to know you again Ucchan, just as it's better you get to know me again, and maybe when things are fully worked out, who knows? I know...that it's not what you want to hear Ucchan...but this way...we can start over...just like I did." 

Ukyo was a bit mad at Ranma's words, but saw the logic in them, she saw that despite his memories of the past, he was different from the last time she had seen him, and it HAD been twelve years, she had changed from the naive girl that she was, though she was still innocent about things. But she also saw that what they did was in the past and she was happy that there seemed to be no sigh of Genma's influence on her Ran-chan. And so she agreed... 

"All right Ran-chan. This wasn't what I had in mind...but it's worth a shot." Ukyo said as she hugged her Ranma once more. 

"Well...I see that what I heard was right on the money!" A sultry and sexy voice came from the top of the wall near them, forcing the two to look up. 

To find the most sinfully clad redhead looking at them with a warm smile directed at Ranma. 

"Who are you?!" Ukyo said with suspicion as she felt the redhead looking at her Ran-chan with a look that spelled danger to her senses. 

"Easy there girl...I'm not here to fight you. So this is that childhood friend of yours eh Ranma?"

Ranma sighed as he kept his hormones in check as he knew just who that voice, and the pheromones came from.

"Nice to see you too Ly'sandra, yeah, this is my childhood friend Ukyo Kounji...please don't do anything to get into fights with anyone today." 

The redhead nodded and leaped away and walked over to both of them and extended her hand to Ukyo.

"My name's Ly'sandra, so you can just call me Lyss for short. Ranma told me a lot about you went we first met, when his mentors took him on the training journey."

Ukyo shook her hand and still kept wondering what was the story between this redhead and her Ran-chan.

"Ucchan...this is the address me and my mother live in...we can discuss things there, and why I take the name Kouji now. We can see each other there."

Ly'sandra then gave a smile as she drew closer to Ukyo and whispered.

"I know you LIKE Ranma a great deal and you want to get closer to him, am I right?" 

"Yes, why?"

Ly'sandra then grinned widely and then before Ukyo or Ranma could do anything, she reached out for Ranma and held him close...shocking Ukyo AND Ranma!

"Then I hope you don't mind a little competition too."

And with that, Ly'sandra Sundyr kissed Ranma (Koujima) Yamatsu right on the cheek.

Ranma realized his life had just begun to get complicated as Ly'sandra winked at both him and Ukyo and left, while leaving her address in a piece of paper in his hands. Now all he had to do was explain to Ukyo the situation before she thought things differently as she glared at him.

"Ran-chan...WHAT is the deal between you and THAT redhead?!"

Unknown to all three, a certain Nabiki Tendo had just managed to snap some pictures of them, namely when Ukyo revealed he was a she...and the arrival of Ly'sandra, she had to use a long range camera and she didn't get all the data, namely audio data since she had been tired sprinting and looking for them and she was a bit too far to hear anything, so she was not yet aware of Koujima's true identity as of yet.

But things were about to get even hotter...

Meanwhile all throughout Nerima, the men of nearly half the town were either sleeping out in the couches or in the guest rooms of their respective houses...ALL of them having red hand marks on their faces along with a host of OTHER injuries. 

--------------

To be continued...

--------------

Author's notes:

Oh yeah…God Bless the man who made caffeine! I am working on overtime here with the coming in chapters…actually they are chapters I worked with and modified in my spare time. And as you can see in this new one…things are not getting any easier for the Jedi Knight.

Akane's after his head…Ukyo has just challenged him to a fight, and it seems that his Zeltron friend has just arrived. And now that he has been able to establish a peaceful situation with Ukyo, it seems that he discovers that Ukyo is also Force Sensitive as Shampoo was. What does that mean for Ranma boy?

Well I don't want to spoil it yet, but it will be fun…now if you want to know what Ly'sandra looks like…imagine a red-haired version of Maya Natsume from Tenjou Tenge and you've got it down pat…and since there IS a big possibility that she will be part of the Furinkan High population…what position shall she take? (NOT THAT WAY YOU PERVERTS!!!!)

Will she be a student teacher, a student, administrator, or the school nurse? And what will be the outcome of this situation?

Hold on to you're helmets and grip those lightsabers tight…the hyper drive's about to go all out!!!

See you in the next chapter!!!


	9. Company

Ranma / Knights of the Old Republic

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma or any of the characters therein, nor do I own Knights of the Old Republic or any of the said characters therein as well. I'm just making stories out of them.

Chapter 8

Company

( ): Thoughts

--------------

A few days later...

Ranma (Koujima) gave a sigh and prayed to Kami-sama that today won't get too stressful. Last night, he and Ukyo had a long discussion with his mother Nodoka and the young woman had been informed on the current reasons why Ranma had taken the name Kouji Yamatsu, and that was to avoid detection from Genma and ensure that Ranma would not be dragged into another bogus idea, and Nodoka would not lose her family ever again.

It had been a bit hard to explain to Ukyo that he had been in the universe for the past twelve years and training with various warrior groups and studying, she nearly thought this was a game made by Ranma, until he showed her his ship, the supplies, weapons, gear, and everything else including his powers with the Force and his lightsabers.

He also told Ukyo about her being the same as him to a degree...that she was Force Sensitive, and like Shampoo, she asked if he wouldn't mind training her. he replied that under normal circumstances, he wouldn't mind, but he would have to get approval from Revan and the rest of the Jedi he trained with for twelve years, plus that, now was not the time for Ukyo to be trained since she had the rest of her high school life to look forward to. Ukyo agreed and was escorted back to her father's house, she also promised never to reveal who he really was.

So for now, he was still Koujima Yamatsu, and for that, he was thankful and hoped that as time would pass, things won't get too complicated in his life. As he thought about his masters back in the Republic, he wondered also about the Amazons, he had listened to the news reports and was happy that they had been able to rebuilt and the tentative trade relations were made between the Chinese Republic and the Amazons. He hoped that Shampoo and her family would be fine and they would do well soon once the peace had been ratified.

For now he had to go back to school and deal with the usual barrage of situations he seemed to walk into when he got to school. He hoped by the Force things didn't get too complicated.

--------------

If there is one thing anyone with life knows, even the Force has a sense of humor

-------------- 

In an airport in China... 

"It was nice of the president to loan us tickets on this flight Grandmother."

A purple-haired teen in a elegant dress for Chinese women spoke in Mandarin to her fellow relative who was an extremely old woman with long white hair and green robes and rode on a cane, the elder woman smiled at her younger relative.

"Yes, it was a good thing too. Now Shampoo...I want you to know that the special student visa you have will allow you to study abroad and this IS your first time out into the world. So be at your best behavior and learn from your experiences." 

"Yes, so we are going to Japan?" 

"Correct, I thought about which country for us to visit and Japan is a logical choice since it is the closest to our homeland. I hope that the lessons you have been taking in Japanese will be helpful to you." 

"Yes Great-grandmother...do you think...do you think we could see Ranma there?"

The teen asked hopefully as she recalled the tall, powerful, and handsome Jedi Knight that she met back on the Tournament nearly three months before. 

Cologne also wanted to meet her village's savior but thought that despite Japan being a chain of islands and not as large as China, it would be hard to look for Ranma in them since the Jedi had not told them of his mother's location. 

"I don't know, but we will let fate...or in Ranma's case...The Force decide." 

Shampoo nodded and secretly hoped to see Ranma again. 

As the plane began to leave the airport, a duck was flying frantically to follow it, it was a normal looking duck...unless one ignored the fact it was wearing the THICKEST pair of glasses one had ever seen.

-------------- 

Later...back in Japan, namely in Furinkan High... 

(By the Force...I spoke too soon.)

Ranma groaned a bit as he gazed at their new English teacher being introduced by their principle. He already knew just WHO was coming in...namely from the minute pheromones coming out from HER. 

"Class, I would like to introduce to you our new student teacher from overseas, Miss Lisa Trenton. She is from England and is a student teacher from Oxford University who is taking a course in Literature and Education, as she is also learning about Japanese culture in her time here, she will also be your fellow student in Japanese culture and history. Please introduce yourself Miss Trenton." 

The teacher then allowed Lisa Trenton...or Ly'sandra Sundyr to enter the classroom. She was decked in a cream white blouse and business jacket, with a skirt just above the knees, allowing many to see her toned, long and sensual legs along with her hips and build. Her hair was no longer in braids, with only a pair on either side of her face. That coupled with the fact that her blouse and jacket had a hard time containing her ample bust and looked somewhat strained added to the package. 

'Lisa' smiled warmly and bowed a bit, allowing her form to be seen a bit more.

"Hello students, and fellow classmates, I am Lisa Trenton from Oxford shire England, and I am happy to be part of this class, I hope we can all learn from each other." 

All the boys in the class-room were either drooling like fountains or trying not to faint from loss of blood through their noses or were adjusting their pants since they became tight, while the girls were glaring at her in jealousy. Four people were however gauging the redhead. 

Akane was snorting and dismissing the sensual redhead as below her attention. 

Nabiki was seeing yen signs as she planned to keep tabs on Lisa and sell new pictures, not mention learn more about the new member of the school since she looked familiar. 

Ukyo was looking in apprehension as she looked back and forth between Lisa, or Ly'sandra/Lyss and her Ran-chan. She wasn't going to lose her Ranma to her. She had so much to make up for. 

As for Ranma (Koujima)...he would have to keep an open eye on his disguised Zeltron friend and hope that she doesn't start a riot with her pheromones, it didn't help matters that he too was starting to get affected. 

-------------- 

Later... 

Ranma sighed as he sat down on the table in the cafeteria after the lunch period, and just like before, there were whispers going on about, namely from the girls talking about him and the latest gossip, one of the topics in discussion was the fact that Ukyo Kounji was actually a girl, the okonomiyaki chef explained the whole thing and said that she had made peace with her former friend 'Ranma'. Naturally, true to her word, Ukyo didn't say that Koujima Yamatsu was Ranma himself, and the girls became more accepting of the situation.

Akane however used the past story of Ukyo to further her belief that all boys were perverts and did some extra punishment to the guys later. 

The OTHER topic was the fact that their new class-mate and teacher from England Lisa Trenton was becoming a HOT item. The redhead had won the eyes of ALL the boys in school and not a moment passed that the girls were either envious of her looks and form, or were jealous at how the boys were falling for the redhead. Boys were all whispering and acting like stunned idiots when the redhead would pass by. 

Nabiki was raking in the yen notes as photos and data sheets of the new foreign student were selling like hot-cakes fresh off the pan. The girl was slightly jealous in the sense that the boys were now divided in chasing either Akane or Lisa. The middle sister however discounted that and went on to do what she can with what she had. 

Ranma sighed and wondered just what else was going to happen today. And lo and behold, in came Lisa Trenton in her school uniform… that is, her modified uniform. which was the same like the normal Furinkan uniform for girl students, but instead of the usual green and white, the outer part was in deep black, with the skirt being form fitting and hugged her slender and well built frame, plus the rest of the clothes were tailored to fit Lisa's form just as the outer clothing, giving her a sensual and provocative look. (Hey, not as revealing, but she IS a Zeltron.) 

That got the boys running over themselves to greet her, while the girls merely steamed a bit as they looked at her with jealousy. Ukyo was nearby and was walking in her normal male garb, she may not look feminine, but Ranma knew her to be a pure girl. 

Ly'sandra or Lisa was taking advantage of the boys, and made even Nabiki Tendo's tactics look like child's play as she got some real large amounts of food, and Ranma knew one thing about Zeltrons, apart from being fierce warriors in their own right, pleasure seekers, scientists, celebration specialists, and seduction specialists...was the fact that they had the highest metabolisms in the galaxy, he had seen one Zeltron male gorge on the richest foods served in a banquet and still be healthy and strong the next day without his body crashing. The women were just as strong and more...he had seen Ly'sandra and even he was surprised at how much SHE ate in one setting. 

"Hello Kou-san, can I sit here, and I want to apologize about the fight we had a few days before." Ukyo said as she sat down next to Koujima and smiled.

"Sure." 

Just as Ukyo sat down, 'Lisa' arrived after escaping her admirers and all of whom were grumbling as their attempts of get more information from Lisa ended in them being left alone, plus the fact that she was sitting down with Koujima who was also being kept in company by Ukyo, but her smiles were worth it. 

"Damn! Why does he get the babe?!" 

"Careful, you saw what he did to all the club students and Kuno, along with Akane, you want him to hit you or what?!" 

Koujima sighed as he heard the whispers and emotions. He then gave a slight glare at the disguised Zeltron as she smiled innocently at him while downing a small pack of chips. 

"Did you HAVE to do that Lyss? I know you used your wiles on those poor guys to get that much food, are you up to something again?" 

"Me? No, of course not."

Lisa said to tease Ranma, she knew that as a Jedi and a user of both the Force and an adept reader of emotions and body language, Ranma knew she was lying, but she had fun anyway. 

"No, never mind, just try not to overdo it Lyss." 

Ukyo was looking at Lisa with a suspecting look, considering how much food she had on her tray.

"Excuse me...but are you sure you can finish ALL that...I mean...not that I'm all that worried, but aren't you worried about getting fat?" 

Lisa smirked and looked at Koujima. "Care to tell her about me...Kou-san?" 

Koujima sighed and spoke to Ukyo. "Lisa, or Ly'sandra's not from England, or anywhere on Earth for that matter. She's from a planet known as Zeltros." 

"Are you telling me she's an...alien?" Ukyo quietly asked with a raised eye-brow as she digested the idea of the vivacious redhead being an alien that Ran-chan had met in his travels with the Jedi. 

"I'll fill you in on the details some other time Ucchan, but suffice to say, Lyss's people have very high metabolic rates and that allows them to eat foods too rich for normal human consumption, that and the fact that they are always in excellent physical shape makes her more than capable of surviving on amounts like that, I even think this won't be enough for you Lyss?" 

Lisa smirked.

"Hardly, this is barely enough to consider a light snack. I can't believe you humans get fat on light stuff like this."

She said as she consumed a whole box of tempura in a few seconds along with a few small cream cakes. 

Ukyo shook her head as she digested what she was told, she certainly had a LOT of catching up to do with her Ran-chan! She then thought about something and looked at both Ranma and Lisa. 

"Ever wondered where Kuno is? I haven't seen him for the past days to near a week." 

"Last I heard he asked for three weeks of sick leave from the school board, I don't know what he's up to and I hope he doesn't come back to cause headaches for all of us again. Or he might try to do something to get even with me for what I did to him when I was in the gym a few weeks ago." 

"What did you do to Kuno? I wasn't able to get ALL the details Kou-chan so can you tell me?" 

"Who's this Kuno guy and why would he have a beef with you after what you did with him in the gym?"

Lisa asked, curious as to why this guy would be looking for a fight with a Jedi like Ranma, not to mention Ranma was a Mandalorian by right. 

Koujima explained what happened between him and Kuno and gave his Zeltron friend an overview as to who Kuno was in the school and what happened between them, when he was done Lyss was looking at him with surprise, amusement and shock, same with Ukyo. 

"He challenged YOU to a sword-fight?!"

Ly'sandra had seen Ranma in action with both sword and lightsabers and the idea of anyone saying that they could beat the Jedi with a blade was preposterous, unless they were Sith warriors or those few groups who had been trained to battle Jedi specifically, and with Ranma being a Mandalorian...well, anyone who did fight him, must have a MASSIVE ego problem or low disregard for their own health. 

"Yeah he did." 

"That guy must be really loaded with spice to mess with you."

Ly'sandra said as she snuggled closer to Ranma, making Ukyo look a bit steamed and so with all the other girls in the cafeteria. Akane was about to attack Ly'sandra for being a hussy, and secretly she hated the fact that the admiration and adoration she normally had was now directed to the redhead snit. But as she was about to walk up to the redhead and berate her for acting that way…fate had other ideas... 

Guess who just came in? 

"Now Koujima… you foul demon sorcerer, you shall finally be destroyed by Heaven's righteous wrath which I, upper-class man Kuno will dispense on your foul presence!!!" 

Koujima shook his head with a sigh as a certain idiot samurai wannabe came into the cafeteria. 

"By the Force...that guy's more stubborn than a nest of mynocks!" 

Kuno glared at Koujima with fire in his eyes, after being humiliated by Kouji, the kendo captain had been at home training with many tutors of the classic kendo arts and after nearly three weeks of hard work, he was now ready to defeat the foul new student. His precious victory was nothing but an act of foul sorcery and now he will gain his just... 

Kuno stopped and looked as if he had been stabbed by Cupid's arrows in the heart...as he stared at the vision of heavenly loveliness next to Kouji. 

(By heaven...who is that crimson haired goddess?! I shall free you my goddess from that foul demon. Hear me, Koujima, you shall release that vision of loveliness! Only I, the worthy Tatewaki Kuno shall have her love!!!) 

Ly'sandra snorted at the way Kuno was looking at her, and she didn't like the way he was gazing at her Jedi friend. 

--------------

Kuno approached and was about to present the newly introduced batch of roses and whatnot when Kouji gave him a warning look, but the idiot considered that as a sign that the foul sorcerer did indeed cast a spell. 

"Pardon me my goddess, while I deal with this cursed hell-spawn!"

He then faced Kouji with a drawn bokken. 

"How dare you stop me from my destiny with the redhead goddess, you low bred sorcerer?!" He was about to attack when Kouji caught his wrist in a vice like grip and gave him a warning glare. 

"Lisa and I have been longtime friends Kuno, I suggest you talk to her civil and the same with me, I was under the impression that I already defeated you three weeks ago." 

Kuno sneered.

"I have been training for the past three weeks to take back my rightful place as the best warrior, the same place you dared to usurp from me by your foul sorcery!!! You are nothing but a foul cur who used nothing but foul magic to beat me...now I will beat you to the ground and free the lovely Lisa from your foul spell that you enslaved her!!!" 

Koujima felt a massive sweat drop flow down his head at the bout of lunacy he had just heard. This guy needed a psych-droid to look into his brain and a session with the Ithorians just in case his brain was damaged.

Ukyo was also steamed at how Kuno had just called her Ran-chan...she resisted the urge to smash Kuno's idiotic face in like a grape...but fighting was forbidden unless with reason. 

Ly'sandra however was NOT in a good mood. She had sparred with Ranma and knew just how honorable Ranma was in combat, the only time he ever used the Force was when dealing with Sith and their dark allies...this pompous robe wearing son of a schutta had no idea how close he was to getting creamed.

She had recalled a few busted up Rodians who dared to mock Ranma when they learned he was a Mandalorian AND a Jedi, and called him a weak willed pile of nerf droppings...they didn't last long when Ranma challenged them to a fight though. She however wanted a piece of the action as she got up and got between Koujima and Kuno. 

"Boys...I suggest you cool your jets and simmer down. Listen...Kuno is it? I'll tell you what, if Kouji's okay with it, you and I can fight, IF you beat me...then I'll go on a date with you."

Kuno nodded in agreement. "DEAL!!!" 

"Ah, I'm not done yet. If I beat you...you promise that while I am here, you leave Koujima and me alone under my rules and his...you agree, noble samurai?"

She asked teasingly as to appeal to his so-called sense of honor. 

"I agree! What say you?" Kuno said to Koujima as he looked expectantly. 

Koujima sighed and knew that from prior experience with sparring with Ly'sandra, he knew that she may not be up to his caliber, but she was MORE than capable as a fighter compared to the deluded Kuno.

"Deal, but I set the rules in this fight, and when it's over, I set the rules, agree?" 

"Deal!" 

"The fight will be in the gym three hours from now, be there Kuno." Kouji said as he got up and was followed by Lisa and Ukyo. 

"I shall be there, and I shall free both my Goddess Lisa from your grasp and show you that I am the true Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!" 

(More like Blue Ferro-crete skulled idiot of the millennium! By the Force, what's the reason I have to deal with a rat like him?!) 

--------------

Up in the Heavens, the Gods and those who were one with the Force gathered to watch the show...and for the first time were taking bets. 

-------------- 

"Are you sure you want to do this Lyss?" Koujima asked Ly'sandra as she went to a room to practice and get her gear together.

"Yep, don't worry hon, I can handle it!" Ly'sandra said with a devious smile. 

"Just don't kill him, it IS a duel with non-bladed weapons, not a death match." Koujima sighed as he left her to change. 

Ukyo asked her Ran-chan. "Just how good is Lyss?"

Kouji sighed."Let me put it this way Ucchan...she brings a new meaning to the term blade mistress, she's not as good as a lot of others I know, but she's good, believe me...Kuno has no idea what he's gotten into with Lyss." 

-------------- 

On the time of the fight...

The rest of the Furinkan students got into the gym and even some teachers got into the act as they surrounded the combat mat, Kuno was in the center and was in his normal garb for the match between him and the goddess known as Lisa Trenton. He didn't expect a fight, he was a warrior and would win her hand easy in this fight.

As Koujima and Ukyo arrived, they got into the position for the officials and in came Lisa.

She was dressed in deep violet form fitting pants and soft ankle length boots and had a short sleeved halter top on her upper form that covered her chest but not her toned stomach. and her long slender arms, but she was wearing armour used in fencing. A chest and back guard set, that hugged her frame and her bust, and the black cloth covering the upper portion added to her looks, while a full arm guard was on her left arm from shoulder to hands, and on her side was a strong but elegant sword, that Kouji recognized as a blunt rapier style Echani training blade. Normally Echani swords were all sharp, but this WAS a non-lethal match so no chance of her using a sharpened blade with no sharp tip either, so Kuno was relatively safe. Her hair was in a coif to allow her to see in the fight, while the long braid was held by a star clip on the left side of her face so not to swat her in the fight, while that didn't allow her crimson wave of hair to be seen it added an air of sensual class to the disguised Zeltron.

The results were obvious as the both male students and male teachers were drooling hard and their libidos were on fire, and so was Kuno who vowed to win the hand of his Goddess and then gain the chance to defeat Koujima. 

Koujima sighed and go ready to call the rules of the match. 

"This will be for five minutes, any part of the body the steps off the mat, and that person loses the match be default. The winner will be allowed to do what is specified. For Kuno, if he wins, he may date Lisa and challenge me to a match, and if Lisa wins, then she may dictate what Kuno cannot do with her nearby. The entire body is the target, but no lethal attacks. Whoever knocks the other out in KO or TKO is the winner. This clear?"

Lisa nodded in agreement, while Kuno smugly agreed, but not before stating that he is destined to win this match, Lisa's hand and defeat the foul cur Kouji.

Koujima wondered if his mentors Revan and Jesse had problems like this, he recalled how Revan had restrained himself and Bastila while they were on Tatooine when Tanis Venn tried to get fresh with his adopted mother and teacher.

Not to mention Jesse who resisted the urge to bash in a Exchange thug, a human named Kornak who tried to get fresh with Brianna. This guy Kuno was already asking for a world of hurt with his pompous attitude.

Ly'sandra was in the same boat as she drew out her weapon and went into a relaxed combat stance, vibro-rapier in one hand and her armored hand was acting as a shield.

"Ready to spar Kuno?"

Lisa asked in a relaxed pattern, Kouji however knew that Ly'sandra was going to make this quick...but VERY painful for Kuno...but the kendo idiot was lucky in the sense that Ly'sandra was using a blunt blade.

Kuno nodded with a smile. "I shall be at my best, I don't want to mar your beauty."

If there was one thing that could ignite the anger of the Zeltron...that was the thought of them being marred. And Ly'sandra was no exception as she suddenly moved with amazing speed before Kuno could finish his words, and with that Kuno got a blow to his shoulder and before he could cry out in pain and surprise, Lisa introduced a powerful blow to both his stomach with her rapier and a powerful strike to the left thigh. All that happened just as Kouji sat down.

Lisa then blocked a slow attack from Kuno and rapped the flat side of her rapier on his knuckles and the nerves HARD, making Kuno's arm lock up and his hand to open up and release his bokken, which Lisa caught deftly with her other hand and introduced both weapons to the sides of Kuno's neck, stunning him and she slammed the bokken HARD on his thick head, shattering the wooden sword and making Kuno fall flat on his face...and...

It had only been one minute into the fight and Kuno was already seeing pretty birdies in front of his face.

Lisa smirked as she looked at his stunned state.

"You don't have to worry about me, Kuno...worry about yourself."

Kuno groaned and was able to get on his feet, minus the fact he had spaghetti noodles for both arms and legs, but as stubborn as he was, he wasn't planning to lose as he got out another bokken.

Unfortunately for Kuno, that was merely the invitation to Lisa to open another can of pain on him as she dashed in, and as he tried to attack with a downward slash, Lisa merely side-stepped and before he could do anything, she slashed her rapier on his ribs, the impact making a slightly...uh, pain-inducing sound. Kuno had no time to register the blow as Lisa knocked his bokken aside with a rising blow and with inhuman finesse, the disguised Zeltron slashes and stabs multiple times at Kuno's chest and with the same speed that she displayed in the first half...

Lisa takes out Kuno's grip on his bokken, takes the weapon and then slams the wooden sword right into his sternum and his stomach, both impacts made a real noise as Kuno's pain receptors finally registered her attacks and Lisa once more breaks the bokken on Kuno's head...and NOT to the one on top of his shoulders!!!

Kuno looked to be in immense pain, namely since the bokken was broken on his...(ahh...does to term family jewels explain it?) most sacred region...much to the fear and awe of the male crowds, the last attack Lisa had done with Kuno's second bokken gave MANY of the perverted guys a VERY clear idea on what to expect from the redhead should they try anything fresh on her. In earnest the referee gave the signal...

Lisa won and it had only been two minutes into the fight. In a minute the medical group assigned to deal with the injuries expected took the now totally unconscious kendo captain to the infirmary, and when his robes parted...he looked like a quilted garment as red spots and red welts were all over his body like a spider's web of bruises and PAIN. The shock was not enough to kill Kuno, but merely knock him unconscious as Lisa bowed to the crowd.

Many of the girls cheered her for beating the womanizing kendo captain, and some said that she's a real butt kicking girl...much to the displeasure of a certain Tendo sibling.

Nabiki was enjoying the situation, she was going to make a lot of yen from selling the videos and pictures of Lisa Trenton in her fencing garb, no doubt the boys and men in the school were dying to have more pictures. But she also noted the hostile glares Akane was sending to Lisa...she hoped her sister didn't get the bright idea of fighting with Lisa Trenton after seeing her decimate Kuno.

But she knew that her sister was stubborn.

Lisa walked back to Kouji and Ukyo and the only Furinkan boys there were Koujima's friends, Daisuke and Hiroshi, and due to them being Koujima's friends were the only boys that were able to get close to Lisa without getting bashed in, along with Kouji, Ukyo also gave Lisa a greeting, amazed at how fast the girl was in a fight.

"How was that Kou-chan? I didn't hurt him TOO much did I?" Lisa asked innocently as Kouji merely shook his head.

Koujima (Ranma) looked at Kuno and shook his head and sighed at the mess. One thing was for sure…things were now going to get even more complicated for him. He only hoped that the beating Kuno got would be enough for the insane kendo captain to get the hint and stay away from him…

Though he wasn't going to hold his breath on the matter… 

-------------- 

Later...

Koujima sighed as he, Ukyo, and Lisa went over to his house to see his mother, Kuno had been sent to the clinic and the doctors said he would have to be in the hospital for a few weeks, he will recover and will be back after a few weeks of rest. He wondered just why Ly'sandra wanted to see his mother of all people, and now he was about to find out as he rang the door-bell. 

"Mom? I'm home!" 

Nodoka smiled as she got up and out from the dining hall after hearing the arrival of her son, she then apologized to her guests and went to open the door.

"Hello Ranma...hello Miss Kounji it's nice to see you again, oh hello! I don't believe we've met." She said in surprise as she spotted Lisa Trenton. The redhead merely smiled and bowed.

"Hell Miss Saotome, I am Lisa Trenton, and I happen to be a former friend of Ranma, I assume...you know he is a Jedi?"

Nodoka was confused at first and then made a wild guess. "Are you an alien in disguise?"

Lisa smirked. "Yes, I worked as a Republic Scout for the Galactic Republic's Naval Divisions and I worked with your son on a number of occasions."

"I see..." Nodoka smiled a bit as she gazed at Lisa...this was further proof of her son's manliness, it's not everyday one had the affections of someone as attractive Ukyo and one as stunning as Lisa, if that was her real name. 

"Well...we can discuss this over dinner and I've ordered some Chinese food from a new cafe that has opened here in Nerima, it's named the Neko Hanten and it has some VERY good ramen as far as I have tasted along with other dishes, would you like to join my son in this, Miss Kounji and Miss Lisa?"

Ukyo and Lisa thought about it and nodded in agreement. 

"Oh by the way Ranma...the owners of the new place happen to be here, they are good people and I think the youngest of them will be a new student in Furinkan, so I hope you can be of help to her. Though her elder seems familiar to me though for some reason." 

"I can try...what's her name?"

The young Jedi asked as his mother and two class-mates came into the house and into the dinning hall, and they smelled the delicious Chinese foods...

But Ranma stopped as he spotted a certain purple haired teen in her Amazon dress, and also the other long haired elder woman who moved on a cane. 

"Shampoo? Elder Cologne?" 

Both turned and they too were surprised to see Ranma, Shampoo however cheered and got up to hug Ranma in a greeting hug. 

"AIYAH!! I am so happy to see you Ranma!!!"

The results were obvious, Ukyo was curious, jealous, and a bit confused as to how this Chinese woman knew her Ran-chan. Ly'sandra was glaring a bit, wondering what's going on. Nodoka on the other hand had a smiling and curious look as to how THIS came about.

Ranma Saotome mentally slapped his forehead...things just got even MORE complicated!!!

--------------

To be continued...

--------------

Author's Notes:

Here's the latest…it seems that the romantic situation's about to get interesting for Ranma…not only is Ukyo back to being his friend and is now trying to get to know him…but Ly'sandra is also getting in on the act as she struts her stuff in Furinkan…driving all the boys into a frenzy.

And it seems that Kuno has tried to get Ly'sandra or rather Lisa's attention…and gets MORE than he bargains for…man I don't want to be him right now.

And to really spice things up…Shampoo and Cologne have arrived…and the amorous Amazon in still intend on getting Ranma to marry her. Are we going to see a three way brawl between the three beauties?

Maybe…or will the other fiancées that Genma has placed Ranma with come out of the wood work and make things even more hectic for the Jedi Knight?

Find out soon!


	10. New Faces

Ranma / Knights of the Old Republic

Disclaimer: I don't have any ties to the companies that made Ranma and Knights of the Old Republic…I'm just a guy who uses them to make stories.

Chapter 9A

New Faces

( ): Thoughts

--------------

The next day... 

Koujima sighed as he got into the bus to head for Furinkan the next day after last night. He recalled telling his mother that her guests were the same Amazons he had stayed with in China when he had been involved between the troubles of the Chinese military and the Amazon Village.

Cologne also spoke of the time he had spent as a guest in her house after helping defend the village from attack and how he had spent time in training Shampoo in a few of his moves and fighting styles.

Suffice to say that Shampoo was very affectionate with him nearby and naturally Ukyo and Ly'sandra didn't like the situation all that much, though the okonomiyaki chef was very much not attacking any of them since she was a nice person.

It was a bit surprising that Shampoo was a great cook so they had a very good dinner that night. Cologne also explained that Shampoo had gained the right to travel to the outside world and her education was paid for by half by the Republic of China. She and Cologne also established the Neko Hanten as their residence and their way of getting funds to make them self sufficient in Japan.

And since Ranma was the one they knew here in Japan, they would rely on his help to make life easier for Shampoo. They also were informed of the legal ruse being used by Ranma and Nodoka to live away from Genma, and having been informed of Genma's abuse and use of Ranma as a meal ticket, the Amazons were more than willing to keep the secret.

Shampoo and Cologne were NOT happy to hear how Genma used Ranma to feed his stomach and how callously he used Ranma as a source of income by using him as collateral to gain something for nothing, namely with all the marriages he had gotten Ranma involved in.

It didn't make things any easier for Ranma to know that in a few days, a handful of those fiancées he was supposed to marry were heading this way soon. That also didn't suit well with Ly'sandra, Ukyo and Shampoo. But things would have to come soon on their own pace. 

Koujima sighed as he got out of the bus. He hoped that things were not going to get even worse soon.

--------------

Later... 

He was walking back to the school when he spotted a long brown haired cute little girl, around to be her early adolescence eating some ice cream, while carrying a school bag and being followed by a bunch of unsavory guys.

Koujima's eyes narrowed as he could sense the dark intentions the men had towards the girl and followed them as he wondered just what was going on. He didn't have to wait long as the girl apparently turned and spotted her pursuers.

"What do you want?" The girl asked as she looked at them. The girl was dressed in what appeared to be a deep yellow full dress which seemed like a younger version of a teacher's dress.

The leader merely leered at her and replied.

"All your money...along with everything else little missy!"

The others smiled and surrounded the young girl. 

Koujima could stand anymore of this, no way was he going to let that girl be harmed, though he was a bit confused at the off energy that he was picking up from the young girl…

He walked out and with a stone in hand tossed it right at the leader's head. The stone struck dead center and the leader growled along with the others who turned to see just who had the guts to hit him. They turned and faced Koujima just as the girl was about to reach for what appeared to be a coin of come sort. She too looked at Koujima Yamatsu and wondered what he was going to do. 

"You've got some guts getting involved kid!"

The leader shouted as he walked over to Ranma. He then grabbed Ranma's shirt and was about to strike as the girl shouted. 

"You leave that young man alone you delinquents!!!" 

"Don't worry Miss, I can handle this."

Koujima answered as he looked at the man square in the eye.

"I suggest you leave the girl alone and forget this ever happened." 

"Yeah right!"

The leader was about to punch Kouji and his gang was watching when Koujima caught the fist and with a vice like grip made the leader stop and he spoke in a very calm tone. 

"You will apologize to the young woman."

Koujima said while utilizing the Force. And the effects were obvious on the leader as he replied. 

"I will apologize to the young woman." 

"You will do it now, and when you are done, you and your gang will leave and never come back." 

"I will do it now and my gang and I will never come back."

The others were confused a bit, but they too were affected by the Force and only saw that their leader was apologizing to both the young man and the lady, they were still confused as they were led away by the leader elsewhere. Once they were gone, Koujima walked over to the girl.

"You all right?"

He asked gently with a warm smile as he kneeled to be at the girl's height. 

"I am fine, thank you, may I know you're name?"

The little girl asked with a smile as she acted cute in front of the young man. She found him to be quite handsome and very cultured and wanted to get on his good side.

Koujima smirked at her attempts and found them nice and replied.

"My name is Koujima Yamatsu, I study in Furinkan High. And you are?"

The girl smiled and was about to reply when Kouji heard the school bell. He looked sadly at the young girl and got up and spoke.

"I know it's rude, but I can't be late for class, maybe we can see each other soon, you can tell me then your name."

Kouji then got up and left for his school, unaware of the fact that the girl smiled and followed him in a cheery manner...in the same direction of Furinkan High.

The girl smiled and spoke loudly. "We are going to meet Mister Kouji, cause I am teaching there too...and my name is Hinako Ninomiya." 

-------------- 

Later... 

Koujima sighed as the teacher got in front of them to send them a new announcement from the main staff. Next to him were Ukyo, Lisa, and Shampoo, naturally the arrival of the attractive Amazon had also gotten a share of greetings from the boys and naturally she wasn't all that prepared...AND he heard more comments on why he was SO lucky since Shampoo took to him more than them. 

(By the Force...what else is going to happen today?)

Koujima was about to find out as the teacher made a new announcement...

"Class...we have a new teacher who will be joining the faculty in Furinkan High, she will be also the supervising teacher of the Discipline Committee, her name is Hinako Ninomiya, please take care to greet her properly. You may come in Miss Hinako."

"Hello students I am Miss Hinako!"

-------------- 

Koujima's eye shot up, along with everyone else's eye-brows as they gazed at the new teacher...who was the very same kid he had rescued from the thugs a few hours ago. 

"She's a teacher?!" 

"What's a kid doing here?!" 

Koujima then stretched out with his Force Sense to study this person and what he learned was a bit troubling...

She seemed to be suffering from some sort of aging disorder, if the Force energy she was emitting was any indication, and he was familiar with a few of those conditions namely systemic hypoclasia, there were also some discrepancies in her own body energy reserves, and that made him wonder, if she did have such a sickness, then by all means she would be around her early twenties. This required looking into.

-------------- 

Later...

Koujima, Ukyo, Shampoo, and Lisa were there eating in the canteen as the students were busy taking their lunch break. The three girls were very close to Koujima much to the displeasure of many of the guys, with the exceptions of Daisuke and Hiroshi who were nearby. However it didn't take long for a certain somebody to get into the act as a certain kid teacher came into the room and was greeted by the student population.

"Hello Hina-chan sensei!"

"Care to have some lunch Hina-chan?"

There were other calls that the young kid teacher responded to, but Koujima could tell that she wasn't all that happy since she really was in her twenties and the idea of being trapped in a child's body, and being treated like a child must be a real pain for Hinako...but with no idea on what would be the cure for that condition, Koujima could only watch.

He knew that in some ways, the Republic Medical Divisions had ways to correct the imbalance, not to mention there were techniques within the healing aspects of the Force that could do that, but he only had balanced training in such things. 

"Hello Koujima-san!" The young girl asked cheerfully as she ran up to Koujima and bowed cutely at him. 

Koujima smiled back.

"Hello Hinako-san."

He said greeting the child teacher in the manner that befitted her real age.

"You didn't tell me you were a teacher here." 

"I am now, I was hired by the school board to help discipline the student council." 

"How do you plan on doing that?"

Ukyo asked, wondering what the young kid could do to discipline students. She hoped that none of the others would take advantage of Hinako while she worked here in Furinkan High since it would be really bad to their reputation in the rest of the Academic circle. 

The same sentiment was with Shampoo and Lisa as they too wondered what this child could to discipline students who were years older than her. They doubted pouting cutely worked anyway, at least when it was done by a child. 

They were about to get their answer once they were done eating and were outside of the school building to be in the yard... as a certain band of idiotic hormone crazed boys came at them. 

"LISA!!! GO OUT WITH ME!!!" 

"SHAMPOO!!! PLEASE GO OUT WITH ME!!!" 

"I LOVE YOU LISA!!!" 

The gang looked up and spotted the same horde of guys that attacked Akane were now attacking them!!! 

Nabiki was nearby and gave the explanation.

"Kuno-baby looks to want to get another chance at dating Lisa, but now with both Shampoo and Lisa here in the school...well, you know how thick headed Kuno really is. Apparently he didn't learn his lessons well when he dealt with you Kou-san and you Lisa-san." 

"Obviously."

Both Zeltron female and Jedi Knight sighed in disgust. 

Shampoo then decided to not use her bonbori and rely on her hand to hand combat skills, as an Amazon and martial artist, she already saw that there were not that many boys in the pack to give her trouble...and there was only one male she wanted to marry and NOT Mousse either. 

Hinako then smiled. "Let me deal with these delinquents Koujima-san, so I can show you how I do my work." 

The others were confused as Hinako took out a small coin with a hole in it that resembled a five yen coin and she began to chant a sequence of words that sounded like some sort of attack as the hordes of boys came ever closer. 

Koujima didn't know what was going on and was about to interfere when he sensed a sudden swelling of power coming from the body of the young girl teacher and wondered what was going on in front of him and he was about to get his answer as a small star-like collection of energy appeared in the coin...getting all the boy's attention as they charged at the Zeltron woman, the okonomiyaki chef, Amazon, and even the young Jedi Knight. 

"Happo Five-Yen Satsu!" 

In that span of time, the flash of light blinded everyone, but the young Kouji, who due to his training in the Force was able to see past the light and gasped at what he saw past the light.

When the light faded, and much to the drooling looks of the boys, Hinako went from a child to a stunning twenty year old woman, her dress straining somewhat to hold her now fully formed and well shaped figure, plus her sexy looks nearly made her in-par with Lisa who also looked surprised at the sudden change in Hinako.

Koujima however was troubled considerably, the technique was similar to the Dark Side power he learned as Force Drain, it was a technique that was the polar opposite of Force Healing, where the user used the Force to drain life and Force energy from his/her targets in order to speed up the natural healing process of the body, similar to the sickness known as vampirism.

Hinako's version apparently was a weaker version as due to her own imbalance of life energy and her case of systemic hypoclasia, this allowed her to actually speed up her body's age process to her correct years, this would mean that despite her unwitting knowledge of the Dark Side technique it was still incomplete and weaker due to her not knowing the full extent of the technique's powers.

Darth Revan, his mentor Revan's past self as a Sith Lord had used this technique on a few occasions, though Darth Malak was known to use that in conjunction with both his Saber Throw and Force Kill. Darth Traya, the Sith name of the former Jedi Master Kreia who taught both Revan and Jesse used that technique to kill many of her enemies in the past...but the greatest user of the Force Drain to its highest degree was none other than Darth Nihilus...he had mastered Force Drain to such a level that he could drain the life force of whole planets!

Koujima knew that due to this technique and the slight signs of Hinako's own Force Sensitive nature...she would be a prime target for Sith recruitment, knowing the technique would help them mold her into a Sith...maybe even surpass Darth Nihilus in power if the Sith convinced her that she could be eternally in her right age and she could use her power in the Force and the Drain technique to show her strength and power to discipline others. This was a serious situation and he had to deal with it very soon...the number of Force Sensitive people were small here on his world...but some had considerable talent and that would make them targets for the Sith to recruit.

He had a LOT to consider...and he hoped that the Sith never came here. 

-------------- 

Later...

As the classes ended and Kouji was heading home, Ukyo, Shampoo, and Lisa were with him and before they knew it, Hinako followed them, due to her absorbing a great portion of the energy of the Horde of Hentai perverts she was in her adult form the whole time in school, so it was not very surprising that she had been hit on by the male students. He had to watch out due to the fact that since Hinako was somewhat friendly with him, getting more of the guys a bit more jealous of him. 

Hinako smiled flirtatiously at Koujima, for a student he certain seemed very cultured and respectful.

"Koujima-san, you mind if I ask if I can have a word with you, at a bit to eat in a restaurant?" 

Koujima wondered about that and nodded. Shampoo and Ukyo then decided to take a game that Shampoo had learned, namely the paper, rock and scissors, and wouldn't you know it, Ukyo won so they headed to Ucchan's Place to eat, she normally opened on this time after school anyway. 

"Sure Hinako-san, what do you want to talk about?" 

"Well, let's just say I want to get to know you for helping me with those annoying thugs when we first met." Hinako asked nicely...after all she liked this young man due to him treating her like her proper age and that the way he acted...rather gentlemanly was nice.

Koujima sighed as he felt the looks of jealousy at him from his other companions, but he had made a promise so he had to stick with it. 

-------------- 

Unknown to Koujima (Ranma), light years away from him... 

The Interdictor class vessel the _Wyvern_ was on it's routine mission of scouting out new bases and planets for it's creators to land and control. Many years before, the Interdictors were the newest models of ships used by the Republic to battle the Mandalorians and they were the few to be used by Revan and Malak in their war with the Mandalorians nearly seventeen years before, but now they were serving new masters...though the designs were disbanded by the Republic, the Interdictors were still in service to a new force... 

The True Sith Empire...

In the command bridge were hundreds of fully armored and armed Sith troopers and personnel along with mass numbers of battle droids, along with them were robed men and women, both human and on occasion aliens, armed with various weapons, the cruel and ruthless soldiers of the Sith were now ready to fight. 

The leader of the ship, a middle aged man was speaking to a lower ranking officer. 

"Have the recon teams been deployed?" 

"Yes sir, a regiment of our scouts have been released to look for suitable planets to inhabit and allow us to colonize them. They are following the policy of the Empire by indoctrinating the possibly encountered native population for us to turn them to our side and gain recruits...and if we can...more of our Dark Jedi to fight for us."

The elder man nodded and looked at the list of the scout ships. "They know the price of failure?"

"They know sir...death."

"Admiral Karthas sir...we have an incoming message from Master Durithus." An aide came in as she reported to her superior officer.

"Very well...I will take it in my quarters."

Later, in the admiral's quarters...

The admiral faced the holo-image of the Sith Lord who commanded this section of the Sith Empire's Fleet.

"Does everything go well admiral?"

"Yes Lord Durithus, the scouts have been sent to locate new populations for us to control along with whatever resources that are present in the planets they land in, with our weapons and their skills we shall have no trouble in pacifying the natives of those backwater worlds." 

"Have THEY been deployed?" 

The admiral nodded.

"They have been sent in detachments with the rest of the scouting units...they are very eager for battle my lord, we can send them changes of orders if you wish." 

"No need...let them do what they can admiral." 

"Yes Master...but one question...what if?" 

"What if they encounter Jedi? Is that what you ask admiral?" 

"Yes." 

"Simple...Kill the Jedi and all they love." 

"As you command Master." 

--------------

In one of the shuttles, the soldiers mentioned by the Sith Lord checked their gear and chanted to themselves with relish as they trained their Force Senses to the fullest. Though they doubted that they will encounter any Jedi in these backwater worlds...they were more than eager to cross blades with the hated and despised Jedi.

All for the honor of killing them and proving that THEY were the best! 

-------------- 

To be continued...

--------------

Author's Notes:

Kind of short isn't it? But hey, it's still all right, and we have yet another member of the Ranma cast to show up and it's one of the more interesting ones. And quite the introduction for Hinako now isn't it?

Ranma comes in and helps the young teacher, and has left an impression on the Life Force sucking female…does that mean that Hinako has developed a crush on the Jedi Knight instead of Soun?

Ranma's really getting swamped and to find out that there are a LOT of people with varying degrees of Force Sensitivity on Earth…how is he going to handle all this plus his female company?

But it seems that things will be far from peaceful now…as the Sith are making their move…will they find the Earth soon?

We shall see.


	11. Unexpected Conflict

Ranma / Knights of the Old Republic

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma or Knights of the Old Republic and all associated characters, story boards and media…I only own this story.

Chapter 9B

Unexpected Conflict

( ): Thoughts

--------------

The residents of the Yamatsu residence were now awake and attending to their normal chores. And since tomorrow would no longer be a school day for Kouji (Ranma) he now had a chance to finally take it easy and not worry about his school work. But that was for tomorrow, he still had a lot of duties left to him as he got dressed. Last night he had scanned the outer regions of the solar system for any possible signals from ships and he was still wary since he knew that it would only be a matter of time before things came to worse. He had been given Republic intel data concerning Sith fleet movements and he didn't want to get caught unprepared.

Before going to finish his break-fast Ranma made a point to train himself back in the ways of the Jedi and Mandalorian methods of combat to keep him up to speed with his training, just because things on Earth were easier…didn't mean he was going to get lax in his exercises.

The fact that his mother's inherited estate was large in the countryside added to it as he trained himself by holding himself up with one hand while holding on the surface of a boulder near a river...centralizing his senses, both physical and the Force to reach out and feel his surroundings. As he did so, he then moved slowly his legs and began to lift himself from his unusual position and began to use his training in the Force to do several flips, cartwheels and other acrobatic moves using the Force that made them near to impossible...even more so with the weights he had on his body.

As he finished he drew out a Vibro-double blade and began an intricate attack and defense pattern, every move was well made and patient, utilizing both Jedi and Mandalorian combat methods and movements. Ranma was so focused that he wasn't aware that he had some guests.

Ukyo, Ly'sandra/Lisa, and Shampoo came by earlier for them to accompany Ranma and had been early so they were greeted by Nodoka who smiled at them and allowed them to enter her home...she had also informed them of his training in the back. So they were there now watching him fight and train.

Lisa had a smile on her face. The Zeltron had taken another disguise chemical to hide her deep pink skin. She had sparred with Ranma before and had to admit that he was very good...not to mention the fact that he was wearing only a pair of training shorts and shoes added to that as she looked at his well proportioned and muscled form. She saw the scars that showed his training under his Mandalorian kin, his Jedi brethren, and the others who taught him over the years...and his battles with the Sith. She smiled at how well he fought and how much he had done to safeguard the Republic and those who could not fight back against the Sith.

Ukyo too was smiling warmly as she gazed at her Ran-chan. He had grown so much and had become such a fine young man that had she been with him in his days in training, she would have been more than willing to forgive him. She was happy that they had a chance to start over...and the look of Ranma's hardened and well formed muscles and frame certainly added to the package as she admitted that he was a VERY attractive guy. She too noted the scars and though she knew that those were what he had endured to be the man in front of her it hurt her to know that she wasn't there to help him if he ever needed help.

Shampoo was in awe at how Ranma moved...such grace, power, skill and motion was something that truly was inspiring and beautiful. This reminded her of the times she and her sister Amazons would watch Ranma as he trained and exercised while a guest of their village. It was still hard for her not to get the chance to propose marriage via the ways of her people, but Ranma had a way about him that demanded respect, and his cultured ways were very appealing. His other talents were just as nice and he did act as a mentor to her, with the approval of Cologne no less.

Nodoka was smiling at the three women who looked at her son with obvious intent and she smirked at the situation. She knew that her son was not resistant to the idea of seeing women and that was fine with her in a lot of ways. She sensed that her son would have a very interesting life...a sign that she too had some degree of Force Sensitivity, as was explained by her son when they had time to chat.

Ranma then became aware that he had an audience and blushed a bit as he could see them same with the three of them.

As he wrapped up his training, Nodoka called them all over as break-fast was made ready for them.

-------------- 

Later... 

Koujima and the others were now arriving at the school and were just about to enter the school, when they were greeted by Hinako who was still in her child form with a smile as she walked with them...all the while they were being watched by a certain short tempered girl.

"Look at him! That blasted pervert must be enjoying the whole thing! First he's managed to fool Ukyo, and that...redhead is fawning over him, then that new Chinese girl, and now that body switching woman likes him too! I bet he'd really love nothing more than to get into ALL their panties!"

Akane fumed as she saw Kouji being greeted by the other girls in the school who all looked at him dreamy expressions...it was sickening!! 

Nabiki however was not in the same frame of mind as she and her lackeys took pictures of who appeared to be resident heartthrob of the whole school, though he appeared rather embarrassed about the whole thing actually, being this popular and he was still cultured and well mannered made him an interesting package.

Pictures of him either in gym clothes or when in swimming classes were selling like there was no tomorrow, and even on the street his pictures were selling like hotcakes on the fly, the money would certainly help her family a great deal in the long run.

The pictures of his female companions were also selling off the rack. Ukyo wasn't there yet since she didn't always participate in school due to her needing to run the restaurant she owned, but Shampoo and Lisa were a different story, the purple haired Chinese teen was getting a fair share of admirers and Lisa was certainly a hot item. To think that all of them, including Hinako hanged out with the young man made him a very lucky guy. 

"Why do you even bother Akane? They like him and there's nothing wrong with Kouji...or are you still sore he beat you easily a few weeks ago?"

The middle sister teased her youngest sibling, no doubt she had not forgotten how easily Koujima had beaten Akane and she had no doubt in her mind Akane had NOT forgotten that... and sure enough…

"Hah! That was nothing but a fluke! I wasn't ready...and the next time I fight that perverted boy...I'll beat him to the ground!" Akane said with certainty

Nabiki sighed silently..her sister didn't learn that no matter how many dummies she broke and beat up, they would NEVER compare to real opponents. The battles she had with all the boys were becoming the focus of her anger and that made it clear to Nabiki that Akane was still not giving up in facing Koujima.

She pitied her sister and wished that a few more battles will finally bring her down a few more pegs and hoped that someday she would learn that not everything would go her way no matter how much she wanted it to.

Koujima heard the exchange and sighed, just what is the deal with the young Tendo? He hoped that she wasn't going to try anything against either him or the others, he already senses some of the ill will she had towards either Shampoo or Lisa. And having lived with the Amazons and their ways, along with Ly'sandra...he knew that Akane was asking for serious bouts of pain if she picked fights with either of the two. 

-------------- 

The Sith however were closing in... 

"We have detected a nearby planet, with a habitable biosphere..."

The pilot of the Sith Scout vessel reported as their ship was still in hyperspace. He then reported to his commander along with the rest of the Sith Recon unit and...their special guests. 

"Good...how long till we get there?" 

"We will be there in half a day." The pilot reported. 

The nav-computer had now the location of the planet...a blue-green planet with several continents in sight. The commander and the rest of his strike team smirked as he and they looked at it. This would make a good place for the Sith to carry the war with the weak Republic and the foolish and arrogant Jedi Order. 

And if there were those they could train to serve their masters...and were Force Sensitive...then all the better. 

--------------

Koujima, Ukyo, and Shampoo were busy listening to Lisa as the disguised Zeltron woman was now dressed in her normal dress for teaching in her class which included foreign literature. The uniform was strictly that of the teacher and amazingly enough wasn't made too sensual by the Zeltron who preferred to use her 'assets' as a student and act as a serious teacher when her time as a teacher came to the fore. Naturally that didn't stop the male students from leering at her, even some of the male teachers would pass by and look at her when they could.

Koujima sighed and wondered just how things will get more complicated and he quickly placed that idea aside as it seemed that he didn't have to wait long for company to show up.

--------------

The gods in Heaven smiled at the thought and then sighed as they knew that a certain situation was coming. 

-------------- 

Later as the students were busy eating, Koujima and the others were busy looking at the upper floors. Cologne suddenly arrived on the scene and greeted the group with a smile.

"Good to see you all up and about."

Koujima bowed a bit as Shampoo spoke in Chinese in greeting to her great grandmother. Since Ukyo and Ly'sandra ,who was now a student after her stint as a teacher, did not understand Chinese, Koujima acted as translator due to his time learning Chinese and his strong gift of Force Comprehension due to his strong ties to the Force.

He then greeted Cologne also in Mandarin.

"Good to meet you as well Elder Cologne, I trust you have been well ever since you and Shampoo came here?"

"It has been well...though I am rather surprised when Shampoo mentioned that she had been attacked by the male students in various clubs here. Though she had not been able to reveal her skills and the fighting abilities of the boys in question is very low...I am happy she didn't get involved in situations that would prove difficult to fix." 

"I am learning well great grand-mother...though I still don't understand some things."

Shampoo replied as she and the others were still busy eating their food which were all made by Nodoka. The purple haired teen then frowned a bit as she thought about a certain situation. 

"Is Mousse delivering food again Grandmother?" 

Cologne sighed.

"Yes, though I hope that unlike last time, he doesn't keep getting lost and making the food go cold." 

Kouji was surprised at that statement. "Mousse is here?"

"Yes, when I had my training session with Shampoo before we came to Japan after it was time for Shampoo to learn about the outside world, and naturally Mousse got involved and we were training near the area of Jusenkyo...Mousse got too overconfident that since you left the village he could pursue Shampoo...but at the time, Shampoo used both her life time of training...and those Echani and Mandalorian techniques you trained her with...and Mousse fell into the Spring of the Drowned Duck. Thankfully Shampoo suffered no such curse and it was several weeks after the incident that we left for Japan. But Mousse's obsession with Shampoo allowed him the will to fly in his cursed form to follow us here. I had managed to convince the authorities to allow Mousse to stay here...though the near sighted idiot was VERY much arrogant...I wonder how could someone with his considerable training in the Hidden Weapons style be so arrogant?"

The elder sighed sadly...while Shampoo also sighed at the thought of having Mousse in the same country as her. 

Koujima nodded and gave a reassuring look to both Amazons, though he wondered a bit if he would have expect attacks from the blind boy from China since he was STILL possessive of Shampoo. He didn't like Mousse due to his way of seeing Shampoo as some sort of trophy to be won and he didn't like that idea at all. 

The group were also busy learning things and the girls were happy that for today nothing seemed to go wrong when Kouji heard a rather loud commotion and it didn't take him long to see a massive dust cloud coming their way, as the cloud came nearer he spotted a small gnomish like male who appeared to be of old age dressed in a ninja uniform and carrying what appeared to be a massive sack.

Koujima then used his senses to track who was following the old man...who's aura of perversion made him sick to his guts...the old man placed a whole new meaning to the phrase 'dirty old man' and considering that the people pursuing him were all female and were armed with all manners of blunt tools for inflicting pain...and from what he was hearing he had a very accurate idea what the old man had in the sack. 

"Sweet! Oh what a haul!!!"

"Come back here you old goat!" 

"Give us back our garments!" 

"Catch me first ladies!" 

Cologne's eyes narrowed as she looked at the rapidly approaching old man. "Happosai..."

Koujima's eyes narrowed as he heard the name. That must be the mentor of his father and from what he had gathered was also the teacher of Soun Tendo.

"You know him Elder Cologne?"

Cologne nodded grimly as she recalled the crimes the perverted old man had committed for centuries.

"Happosai is a real pervert having been caught groping many women for the past many years...he is as old as I am and is the Grand Master of the Anything Goes Martial Arts. Not only is he a pervert and has the habit of stealing women's unmentionables as you have seen Kouji...he has also been known to steal precious treasures for his own benefit and selling many artifacts of great cultural and historical value to underground dealers. He is a formidable martial artist and is evil to the core due to his perversions. He has been a bane to the women of the world and that includes us Amazons."

As Cologne watched, Koujima decided to put a halt to Happosai's rampage. "I'll deal with him."

With that Ranma used his training in Force Speed, running like a blur...much to the awe and shock of everyone. The girls in Furinkan was already familiar with Happosai and hated the old gnome. And to see Ranma streak out like a lightning bolt was a sight, namely to Akane and Nabiki who were stunned to see Kouji move with such speed as if he was like the wind itself.

Happosai suddenly heard a voice calling out to him.

"You better slow down old man and give the women back what you stole from them."

The old pervert saw a young man, tall and lean looking at him with a great degree of disapproval, and was decked in the uniform of Furinkan High. The old man snorted that such an upstart teen was trying to rain in on his fun.

"Yeah right! Catch this kid, I am having so much fun!"

The gnome said as he tossed out one of his small bombs...expecting that it would deal with this potential party pooper.

But unknown to Happosai, Ranma merely used his training in Force Deflection and stopped the bomb in mid-air...much to the surprise of the onlookers and to the owner of the bomb in question as he had never seen his bomb caught in mid air.

Ranma then used his mastery of certain aspects of the Force to secretly enhance the bomb's explosive power and he then used the Force in Redirection as he sent the bomb back to Happosai.

The pervert was quite used to his bombs exploding at him at times so he didn't worry about it too much...but he had never faced an explosive amplified by the Force. The explosion was twenty to thirty times stronger and the results sent the gnome skidding to the side and that allowed the women the chance to finally beat up the gnome.

And beat him up they did… 

BAM!!! 

SPLAT!!! 

KRUNCH!!!

-------------- 

In a few minutes the women finally managed to get all their belongings and naturally the old martial artist was fuming mad as he glared at the young Jedi who wasn't intimidated in the least of the old man. 

"YOU!!! You ruined a good haul brat!" 

"You are nothing but a pervert...considering what you've done for all your life, I consider what I did a good service, so what do you intend to do?" 

"DAMN!!! YOU INSOLENT WHELP!!! YOU BLOCKED MY BOMBS BUT LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN BLOCK THIS!!!" 

Nabiki shook her head as she saw Happosai beginning to summon his ki attack, the same one that terrified her father and her father's friend Genma Saotome. She wondered what will Koujima do now. 

Akane looked on in interest...just what will the boy pervert do now? 

Happosai then fired his ki at Ranma...expecting this to finally make the boy pay for ruining his fun as the snake shaped ki bolt struck at him. The others watched in shock and fear, even Cologne wondered what would be the result.

Koujima snorted as he summoned the Force into his hands and with amazing calmness...CAUGHT the energy bolt using his training with the Force to capture and contain the Ki bolt and even managed to move it back a bit.

Happosai was in shock!!! HOW did he do THAT?! No one could block one of his perversion powered ki bolts...much less contain it! 

"I believe this is yours old man."

Koujima said in contempt and sent the ki bolt aside like swatting a fly. The ki bolt had been also affected by the Force and broke into nothing but wisps of departing energy. 

"HOW?! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!!" 

Happosai was shocked as he got ready to fight sensing that this boy was a POWERFUL fighter.

"For one of my training...and heritage. NOTHING is impossible with the Force. Show me what you've really got old man."

Koujima said with conviction as he got into an Echani combat stance.

It was now a fight between the Grand Master of the Anything Goes and the greatest pupil of Revan and Jesse of the Jedi Order...and a Son of Mandalore started. 

--------------

(Be right back! This battle between Koujima (Ranma) and Happosai will be like the icing on the cake of battles that will soon follow, namely since the Sith will be here soon. What will be the outcome of the fight between the Jedi Ranma and Happosai? Namely since Ranma has a somewhat strong dislike for perverts like Happosai? Comments please!) 

-------------- 

Happosai struck first with his pipe...hoping that this will be over so he can get back what he was doing, he was somewhat shocked as the boy had deflected his ki bolt, but he felt that he could beat him with the rest of his techniques as he attacked with his perversion filled strength. 

However since Koujima had trained with Brianna, who had incorporated her Echani combat styles and techniques with her Force training to make her a deadly and very talented Guardian, plus his gift of Force Comprehension had allowed him to learn much from his mentors, and like Brianna had mastered to a degree the fighting styles of the Echani and that of other Jedi, Mandalorians, and other combat styles...making Koujima more than capable, and his two years of fighting the Sith had given him more than enough power, skill, and knowledge to be a great threat to any foe. Happosai was about get seriously beaten.

Koujima blocked the pipe to Happosai's shock and landed a kick on the old pervert who despite being able to dodge the blow had been knocked back by the force of the kick, but he didn't have enough chance to block a punch that cracked a nearby wall. Kouji however didn't stop as he moved with Echani precision and grace, catching Happosai off guard as he never expected his foe to move that fast. He blocked the punch with his pipe and smirked.

"Good bye!"

He then tried to throw Kouji away and send him flying, and had succeeded but Kouji then moved into the air and seemed to hover for a second and leap back to the ground with amazing speed, Happosai was getting angry as he launched several punches and kicks at Kouji who blocked and dodged the blows. And he then struck using an Echani blow to the chest that Happosai wasn't able to block and the gnome was sent slamming into a tall post. He got up and blocked the incoming punch with his finger...and paid a price for it when Koujima's Force enhanced strength and his years of training gave him the power to BREAK the old man's finger like a stick.

"AAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!!!! That was MY best groping hand and finger you broke!!!"

Happosai whined in pain as he moved away. He then decided to use one of his techniques to weaken the boy before things got out of hand. He was about to attempt it until Kouji struck with intense power and speed, sending blows that began to make resounding sounds of fists and kicks hitting the old man. Happosai then retaliated and managed to hit Koujima...the blows were painful in a sense, but Kouji was undeterred, the Force already adding more power to the Jedi. He knew he would have some small bruises, but after seven years of training in the moon of Dxun and with the Mandalorians...he was not shy about getting bruises.

"Here...have this as gift!"

Koujima said as he began firing short but powerful and focused blasts of Force energy as gusts of kinetic power that slammed into Happosai, the bursts of focused Force energy were slamming the pervert around into walls and posts, the results were either the walls had impressions of Happosai implanted into them, or posts were bent at odd angle along with the sounds of pain coming from the pervert.

Happosai was getting mauled and he had only managed to hit some blows and yet they didn't seem to stop the youth. WHAT was he using?! It felt like Ki, but at a level the perverted old man had never heard of or seen! What was the Force?! That was his last question when the last blast for Force energy sent him slamming into a massive steel wall. He got up and was in pain and then attacked, aiming at a certain point hoping to use the powerful Moxibustion Point.

But he was denied that chance as Koujima caught him in a Force Whirlwind and as the old man tried to get put, he fired another bomb at Kouji who merely side-stepped the attack and delivered a series of punches and nerve strikes to incapacitate Happosai and then with a powerful kick knocked the pervert aside. Happosai's knowledge allowed him to recover from the strikes and then tried to surprise his foe by using his battle aura to become larger. Koujima backed back a bit but then summoned the Force and used the Force Breach to shatter the illusion of Happosai being a giant to a certain level, breaking Happosai's ability with his ki. Happosai then fired more bombs at Kouji, who moved aside with deadly speed and with a flying spinning kick slammed his heel right into Happosai's face, knocking the pervert in the air. 

"CURSE YOU BOY!!! I'LL BE BACK AND I WILL MAKE YOU PAY!!!"

Happosai swore as he was sent flying to the other side of town.

Kouji was tired a bit from the fight, but wasn't scared, compared to the Sith he fought with, Happosai may be powerful here on Earth, but against him and all he had endured as both a Jedi and Mandalorian, along with all his experiences, Happosai had better be careful, though the old man was tough having taken some considerable punishment from the Jedi Knight. He had learned a good deal of the Dark Side and while familiar with the use of such powers, he didn't use them unless driven by need. Happosai was actually lucky that he didn't resort to such methods...though he was not as adept with the Dark Side as the Sith were. His bruises were painful since the old man was tough, but he had fared with worse injuries than those in his days and battles.

-------------- 

The rest of the school population were in awe at the fight and many of the women, both student and teacher were cheering him on as he made it back to the school.

Nabiki whistled at the results of the fight...while Akane was silent like a statue. 

--------------

The pilot of the Sith Vessel nodded as he spotted their target destination and locked in a selection of coordinates to be stored in the nav-com while the rest of them landed in the area, as they knew that the natives were unknown and therefore had no ties to either their group or the Republic, and from their scans they snorted in contempt at the low tech level of the technology of the planet's inhabitants. conquering this world would be easy. 

Their target was a location on a country known as Japan.

-------------- 

Later in the afternoon... 

As Ranma came home he greeted his mother and went to the ship and began to covertly track the solar system...and it didn't take long for him to track the ion emissions coming from the Sith vessel. Ranma's eyes narrowed a bit as he checked his archives and scanned them to locate the latest data on the Sith vessels. 

Data file: 

'Renegade' Sith Scout vessel 

Weaponry: Blaster cannons and two missile tubes 

Crew Capacity: 2 pilots, 2 navigators, 3 engineers, 30 support and recon crew. 

Hyper speed capable: Yes 

"Sithspit! How?!" 

Ranma wasted little time in trying to figure it out and went on to use his ship's sensors to track the ship and make sure that he didn't lose it. In a few hours after tracking the vessel, he tracked it to a landing zone outside of the section of the area of Nerima. He knew well enought hat the Sith occupation force would be coming in and the scout party would no doubt send them the coordinates to Earth. And then the Sith would take over the planet to turn it into a base and use all they can get from the world and do what they want with the lands, resources and the people... 

That he could not allow... 

-------------- 

Nodoka looked at the change in her son as he took on his armour and weaponry, after he had told her of the Sith Scout vessel and the possibility of the Sith taking root here on Earth she knew that the warrior that her son had become had arrived to the fore. She wished her son the best of luck and made him promise to come back alive to her and make sure that he would be careful of the attacks of the Sith.

Ranma nodded as he got his gear assembled. He took on a Matukai Adept robe which was outfitted with Bio-restorative underlay Mark 4 so he could heal minor to some moderate wounds, took a spare double-blade lightsaber and placed it nearby on a spare holster with his own custom made lightsabers, along with packs of grenades and a pair of high grade Detonation packs to destroy the scout ship and a set of small vibroknives. He took also a pair of portable transmission jammers that were given to him by Mission Onasi who made them to create a jamming signal to disrupt and scramble transmissions. Along with that was a Plasma Projector rifle and then Ranma was set for war.

Nodoka sighed and knew that this was a real battle for life, unlike the battles Ranma had been dealing with for a month and a half now. This was life or death in battle and she prayed to Kami-sama that her son would come back and not be corrupted by the Dark Side. She watched as Ranma silently left the manor and quickly used the Force to move to where the Sith ship would be landing. 

-------------- 

Later...

Ranma looked through the canopy of the trees as he spotted the Sith ship approaching. He had managed to set up the transmission jammers and was able to hide. He took precautions to mask his Force aura as much as he could since he had a feeling that there might be Dark Jedi or Dark Force Adepts in the group of Sith scouts, the Sith always employed their Force users to their teams to show their power and he had encountered them before so he knew enough to be cautions. 

And his caution was rewarded as the ship landed and out from the ship came a squadron of Sith troopers...all dressed in the same armour worn by the Sith soldiers under Revan's command when his mentor was still Dark Lord of the Sith, he knew that the armour not only protected them, but made them look inhuman as well. They were armed with blaster rifles and even some repeaters. 

He then used his training in security hacking to check their communications and knew that things would be bad if he didn't take them out. 

"The land is good for our purposes."

"When can we contact the main ship? I'm in the mood for some action tonight!!!" 

"In a few hours, fan out and see if we can get a lay of the land." 

"Sir? If we find some...female company...you mind?" 

"Knock it off, once we're done here then we'll see."

Ranma glared at the thought and decided that it was time to spring the trap as he sent the remote signal to the signal jammers. He looked at the signal and nodded as the jammers went to work. He hoped to end this fight quickly as he stepped forward to face the Sith troopers.

The Sith were shocked to see a fellow human facing them, but they didn't take long to recognize the Matukai robes he was wearing and they could tell from the way he moved that he was Jedi...but they were even more shocked and angered when they saw his face. 

"YOU!!!!" 

"THE TRAITOR'S PRIZED STUDENT!!!"

"Well...looks like we're going to have fun here guys...we thought we'd never find any REAL challenge on this mud ball of a planet and we find a Jedi...and the 'famous' Ghost Warrior and prized student of former Lord Revan at that."

The leader said in contempt as he took out his Repeating Blaster rifle and aimed it at Ranma.

"You've caused too many head-aches for the Masters you Jedi scum! Time for you to suffer!!! Our Masters will reward us well when we bring you to them...alive or dead!"

"Ahhh...the legendary student of the fallen and weak Revan." Another voice came out as a group of eleven robed and armored figures came out from the shuttle and Ranma could sense the Force in them, they were Dark Side users, judging from the strong Dark Side taint he could sense from them. 

"I and my brethren will have the pleasure of having your soup drained from you Jedi scum...along with our blades who hunger to drink your warm, sweet blood and feed on your firm flesh!" The apparent leader of the robed group said with sadistic relish as they removed their hoods...and they took out their weapons.

The ten minions were armed with Sith Swords, blades treated with Sith Alchemy to be sharper, harder, and stronger than normal swords, plus they were able to block blaster fire and even resist lightsabers, the users could even channel the Force through the blades to make them inhumanly sharp. These weapons were once widely used by the True Sith before they took up the use of lightsabers...both for ceremonial purposes and the visceral feel of metal cutting flesh. He knew that Ajunta Pall, the Sith Lord his master Revan had redeemed was a master of the Sith Sword, along with Naga Sadow, Marka Ragnos, Ludo Kressh.

The leader then took out a pair of swords that Ranma quickly recognized due to the design and the fact it was like an Echani Vibrosword in the sense it had cortosis weave...but had the same dark feel that meant it was seeped in the Force...Sith Tremor Swords. These were weapons once fielded to the Sith by Revan in his days as a Sith and by Malak before his death...Ranma knew now just who he was dealing with apart from the Sith troopers...only one sub-sect of the Sith Empire used Sith Swords and the Sith Tremor Swords over lightsabers... 

Bladeborn...

The Bladeborn were warriors of the Dark Side who mastered sword combat and reveled in the chance to slay Jedi or Sith in combat, if one of them killed ten lightsaber wielders in combat he or she regardless of race would be called Masterblade and wield the Sith Tremor Swords.

The Bladeborn then removed their masks to show that they were near humans and had...two proboscis on their cheeks. Ranma's guts sickened at the thought as he knew what they were...

Anzati...

The Anzati fed on the luck of a person through their proboscis, calling the luck as 'soup' and to the violent humanoids...it was a delicacy they relished along with other emotions...namely fear. They had special telepathic powers to sense the luck people had, similar to the Jedi's Force Sense, those powers could also stun and fool their victims. The Anzati were too bloody and violent to be chosen for Jedi training due to their addiction to the luck of others and their hunger for it.

Ranma's face hardened as he knew that this would be a serious fight. 

-------------- 

To be continued...

--------------

Author's Notes:

Ahh…now things are more on the action packed department…Ranma has just picked a fight with none other than Happosai himself…the ultimate version of a dirty old man and the pervert Grand Master of the Anything Goes has just gotten his old scrawny hide beaten like a punching bag.

But…that fight will be nothing compared to what is about to come…for the Sith have found Earth…and their scouting party have just arrived near Nerima…if they succeed in placing in Earth's coordinates…the Sith Empire will come to Earth and enslave everyone they find!

Ranma must now fight them with all his skills, abilities and more in order to save his home planet.

You are about to see another side of Ranma, the one that was born fighting the Sith for two years before he came back to Earth…and since the Sith know neither mercy, compassion, or remorse…he must now show them either in order to save his home world.

And the Sith are very dangerous…especially the Bladeborn…even more so as they are all Anzati…

The next chapter will be bloody, nasty, and very destructive…so hang on…you're about to see some REAL fighting!


	12. Clash of Light and Dark

Ranma / Knights of the Old Republic

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma or Knights of the Old Republic, though I wish I did so I can boast about it…the only thing I can boast about is the story I make using both.

Chapter 9C

Clash of Light and Dark

( ): Thoughts

--------------

In the Yamatsu residence…

Nodoka felt a chill in the air and prayed to Kami-sama once more as she looked out to where her son had disappeared to intercept the Sith scouting party. She hoped that her son would be safe and hoped that all he had learned and all he had experienced would pull him through the encounter with the Sith forces.

Ukyo didn't know why but the air seemed colder than before and a chill of something akin to dread filled her for a few seconds and she began to think about Ranma...and for the life of her...she felt the urge to pray as she was in her restaurant for the night.

Shampoo was busy reading some of her Chinese-Japanese books in her room in the Neko-Hanten when the air seemed to become colder tonight and she had a feeling she didn't feel for all of her life except the time her parents died...and it had something to do with her part time mentor and love interest Ranma.

Cologne's senses were suddenly heightened to the highest level for a brief moment as she sensed something strong and still in the air...like the tension between two mortal fighters who hated each other with an animal ferocity before they struck at one another...she wondered why and for the life of her...she didn't like the feeling as the old woman felt that tonight something was going to happen. 

Ly'sandra was busy checking the data-files and records in her Nubian when she ran into the detection of the incoming Sith Ship...she swore as she knew what that meant. Grabbing a Cinnagar War Suit, a pair of heavy blasters, a few grenades, medpacs and a Vibrosword, she went to the location where the ship had landed. If the Sith were here and Ranma knew about it...then it would mean a serious fight. 

--------------

Back in the battle-zone… 

Ranma's entire attitude changed the very second he readied his Plasma Projector. He had done many things in his twelve years of training, making hard decisions that had saved many lives under his command, Mandalorian, Jedi, and Republican lives...and dealing with the True Sith. There had been times that he was able to turn a few of them back into the light...Soldiers, scouts, and even a few of their Dark Side Jedi. He knew that not everyone was truly evil even if the Dark Side held them for a time. He knew of those he himself had met who had been brought back from the grip of the Dark Side.

Juhani, his Cathar Master, who was rescued by Revan in the past and allowed her anger to supposedly strike down her master in rage, and her exile in the grove in Dantooine. How Revan saved her and helped her from falling back into her pit of anger and hatred when she fought and was goaded by Xor to kill him. Through her he learned that the Dark Side is no stronger than the light. 

Yuthura Ban...who Revan had become friends with on Korriban, who recalled why she trained as a Jedi and saw how far she had fallen by joining the Sith and forgetting her promise and her friends. She walked back into the light with Revan's help and aided in the rebuilding of the Republic and the Jedi after the Jedi Civil War. She was present in the final strike of the Republic and Jedi on the Star Forge, leading Jedi strike teams to aid Revan. She was one of his teachers as well and taught him that the path of the Dark Side would make you forget all that you are and what you wanted to do.

Kel Algwinn...the doubting Sith student who Revan convinced to join the Jedi after feeling out of place in the Sith...who became a great Jedi Knight and was also part of the Jedi strike team on the Star Forge. He was badly wounded but helped immensely in the efforts to save the Republic and the Jedi. 

Dustil Onasi... who once fueled by anger at his father's supposed betrayal and abandonment, was saved by Revan and his father from the Dark Side when they showed him the lie and the true face of the Sith. He too had been one of his teachers, showing that the Sith lied to others to use them until they were nothing but weapons. 

Thalia May and her fellow students who saw the brutality and cruelty of the Sith and fled into the caves, they were spared and rescued by Revan, they too aided the Jedi in the assault on the Star Forge and became part of the line of heroes who gave their blood to save all that was good in the universe. Only Thalia survived among her band and she became a Jedi on considerable skill in the end of the Jedi Civil War.

Ajunta Pall, one of the first Sith Lords who died in regret and sorrow after three hundred years of being in thrall of the Dark Side. After Revan found his true sword, he was finally convinced to walk back into the light by Revan and for the first time since his death...his spirit was at peace and was one with the Force...reunited and reconciled with his former comrades and Master.

Mekel, the former Sith Revan found torturing possible students for his own amusement...who he met again in Tulak Hord's tomb...being tortured by Jorak Uln and who he saved despite his dislike for what Mekel had done, both he and the others along with Mekel took down Jorak, and Mekel realized that he had suffered what he had inflicted on others and through Revan's compassion and words from Juhani, Jolee, and Revan, forsook the Dark Side and took redemption...he then walked away from the Dark Side and left the Sith and in the end...becoming a Jedi and one of Ranma's friends when he was young.

Visas, his Miraluka master who had once been wounded by Darth Nihilus and was warped into a Dark Jedi by the Sith Lord, who was sent to hunt down Jesse and take him alive or dead to the Lord of Hunger for him to feed upon Jesse, Jesse defeated her and instead of slaying her, spared her and helped her recover and see the universe in what it was meant to be, not in the way of her former Master. She loved him and vowed to save him, and with his help she saved Telos from her former master and finally made peace with her past and became a great Jedi of the Order. She showed him the power of bonds and friendship through his time with her.

Atris, the former love of Jesse who had allowed her guilt and anger to warp her into a Dark Jedi, Jesse defeated her and brought her back from her own self imposed prison of hate and she returned to being the kind woman Jesse knew back on Dantooine. She too aided in defending Telos and helped rebuild the Jedi. Through her Ranma learned the true power of being true to one's self and love the good in life. 

And...Bastila...who was like a mother to Ranma, she had been captured and tortured by Malak and gave into her hatred and anger, she too nearly destroyed the Republic by aiding the Sith with her Battle Meditation and tried to convince Revan to returning to the Dark Side...she failed. Revan followed her to the Star Forge and dueled with her and defeated her. She realized what she had done and wanted to die, but Revan saved her and drew upon the bond of love they shared, allowing her to finally be free from the Dark Side, and to admit that she indeed loved Revan as much as he loved her. Together they helped the Republic and the Jedi win over the Sith and destroy the Star Forge. Through his time with her, Ranma learned the power of love, compassion, and faith. 

These people taught him that not all who follow the Dark Side were lost forever. But the True Sith had the Dark Side coursing in their veins and very beings...They truly embodied the Dark Side and knew nothing but anger and hatred. They showed no pity and mercy to either themselves or the innocents who they torture. He could ill afford to show both to such relentless, evil, and brutal foes...and so...he would have to slay them all to stop them from inflicting their cruelty on his home world. 

It was time to cast aside his compassion and mercy...he would have to become what others called... 

The perfect warrior. 

-------------- 

The pilots and the navigators of the Renegade vessel watched as their force was about to engage the Jedi Knight in combat. The younger support pilot wondered if it would be a good idea for them to send the message to their leaders to tell them about the Jedi they had encountered, but he was superseded by his superior...who said that they should just record and watch. 

After all...what could one Jedi do against nineteen well trained and armed Sith troopers and ELEVEN Bladeborn? 

They were about to find out... 

--------------

(Intense fight here...)

Ranma moved quickly out of the way from the barrage of blaster fire coming from the Sith troopers who also tried to stop him with sonic and flash grenades. The explosions threatened to disorient him as he moved aside from their explosions and he retaliated as he used Force Redirection to send several blaster bolts right back at the troopers, Three of them had their injuries as the blasters had been barely deflected by their suit's armour plating, but one got his blaster rifle hit from the returning blaster bolts, the explosion occurred from the shrapnel that hit the power cell, the Sith trooper screamed in pain as his left arm had been broken and badly mauled and as he was about to take out a blaster pistol, Ranma fired several rapid shots from his own rifle...the first blew into the blaster pistol, causing the weapon to explode and take out the hand of the Sith trooper leaving the man literally without hands as the blood from the explosion spilled everywhere along with fragments of the uniform and flesh as the man screamed in pain.

The second blast from Ranma's rifle hit him in the left thigh knocking him down to one knee...and the shot into the face plate armour ended the whole thing as the man fell to the ground bleeding, handless and headless.

The other Sith troopers were also forced to take cover as Ranma continued to blast away at them, the leader then ordered a frag grenade volley as the rest of his troopers replied and over eighteen grenades flew over their cover and headed for Ranma, who used the Force to deflect several of the grenades away and those exploded harmlessly away from him, while the others he merely sent back at the troopers who moved out of the way. The explosions filled the night sky and the sounds made it seem like a small gang war was going on. 

"Blasted JEDI!!!" 

Two nearby troopers had shouted as they fired at Ranma, who used the Force to suddenly leap into them and before they could do anything Ranma stuck, he took out one of his vibro knives and slashed at the nearest Sith trooper, forcing the trooper back, just enough for Ranma to jam his Plasma Projector rifle into the chest and fired at point blank, the bolt was well powered and ripped past the weak spot of the armour and bypassed the body suit...and ripped out through the chest and back of the unfortunate Sith trooper who barely had time to even register that she was dead as Ranma kicked her away. The other female trooper had barely time to shout an oath when Ranma smashed the butt of his weapon into her solar plexus like a baseball bat and then jammed his vibro-knife into her back making her scream in pain, she was then dragged to face a certain direction by Ranma who grabbed her hand and before she could scream, she was cut down by a barrage of blaster bolts from her comrades, her armour held until the laser bolts ripped past the now ruined armour and killed her.

Ranma then used the Force to toss the corpse at the nearest troopers, but not before adding a frag grenade to the dead trooper's body. The body flew at them and made them move aside. But then they spotted the grenade and scattered, that led to the death of another trooper as he before he could get up from his roll, Ranma was on him and blasted his left arm off with a shot of his rifle to the shoulder and the arm was blasted clean off. Before the trooper could even register the shock of the hit...Ranma kicked him and jammed another knife into his face plate using his Force enhanced strength to pierce the face armour and spearing the man in the forehead.

Another trooper barely had time to get his blaster pistols ready when a few vibroknives flew at him, sent by Ranma with the Force, the blades smashed into his elbows and shoulders, literally skewering him like a butterfly with needles. He was bleeding hard until Ranma came at him, his Plasma rifle aside and took out his double lightsaber and ignited one blade, slicing off the trooper's head with a clean swipe and tossed the body away while tossing another grenade at the other troopers, some were able to escape, but another took the blast in point blank range and was severely mauled by the grenade and the fragments. He saw only through pain until he felt a massive burning pain and had enough time to look down in shock as the double lightsaber was embedded deep in his chest, killing him with burning energy and flame as Ranma then retracted the weapon from the trooper's body as he fell dead. 

"FIRE!!! KILL HIM!!!"

The leader screamed as his nineteen trooper sized unit had just lost five troopers...to ONE Jedi. 

The troopers fired and fired, but to no avail as Ranma ignited the second blade of his double saber and used the purple colored double lightsaber like a shield using Soresu to send the red blaster bolts flying in other directions. He went after several other troopers who took out their own vibroswords to engage the Jedi in close combat.

One swung at Ranma with a blow to the neck, but Ranma blocked the attack and side-stepped another trooper who tried to spear him. The first trooper was sent stumbling forward and had no balance when Ranma turned off the second blade and allowed Ranma to re-ignite the blade and slash off the arm of the trooper. The other trooper came back swinging wildly at Ranma along with other trooper. Ranma used Ataru to leap over the two and before the could do anything, Ranma struck with the saber, one blade off, slashing their legs in the calves burning through the leg armour and when he faced the troopers who were still standing re-ignited the second blade and slashed off their extended arms at the wrists when they tried downward strikes and the Jedi slashed at their chests, killing them.

Ranma then went on to block more blaster fire as the two troopers fell dead, sliced and torn to pieces before they even had time to scream.

Another trooper attacked with two vibroblades and tried to attack as fast as she could, hoping to land a blow, Ranma however had learned much from both Bastila and Brianna when it came to using the double lightsaber and lured the trooper on and before she could do another attack, Ranma side stepped a stab and slashed off the woman's arm by the elbow with a quick strike and then leaped over the trooper and stabbed her with the other blade, the lightsaber struck in the middle of the back appearing through the chest, right into and past the heart, killing the woman in a second. Ranma then took out his double saber and move aside as the blaster fire ripped into the body of the now dead woman.

Yet another trooper attacked but this time with his own vibro-double blade. Both Sith trooper and Jedi fought, the cortosis weaved double blade blocking the swings and stabs of the Jedi, but Ranma moved with grace and speed of Ataru, making the trooper had pressed in the defense. The fight ended when Ranma attacked with a leaping strike which was blocked, but as the trooper moved back, Ranma sent the second blade rising up from the lower section...severing the vibro-double blade in the middle of it's long handle since the handle didn't have any cortosis weave in the handle, the trooper barely had the time to react when the Jedi used a powerful downward slash that sliced past his helmet and the rest of his body suit...the trooper was sliced into two vertical halves of smoking armour and flesh as Ranma pressed the attack, switching to Soresu and Djem So as he closed the attack.

Three more Sith troopers were still firing with their blaster rifles when Ranma suddenly tossed the double lightsaber at them, One trooper had no time to do anything as the spinning weapon sliced off his right arm as it bypassed the armour suit. The others were able to get ready to evade the returning saber but Ranma had used the Force to shut down the double lightsaber in return flight and the troopers were caught off guard and paid dearly as Ranma rushed in with amazing speed and jammed both his now revealed custom light sabers and jammed them right into their necks. The troopers had no time to even scream as the blue and silver blades appeared through their necks and the smell of burned flesh, blood and melted metal filled the air as Ranma pulled out his sabers and then slashed off the head of the trooper who had lost his arm. 

Ranma then used his Force powers to amplify his abilities and attacked the rest of the Sith troopers who were still going at full auto, Ranma then moved aside as the Renegade's turrets began to fire at him with their laser cannons, Dodging a few salvos, and knowing that there was no way he could use his sabers to block shots like that he then used the Force to bend the cannons and make them break down by destroying their gears. As soon as he managed to silence them, he was attacked by three more Sith troopers armed with vibro-swords. 

Two came at him and the first was armed with the same pair as he carried his own sabers. As he crossed blades with the trooper he also sensed the other coming in to stab him in the back, he waited for the right moment while luring the attacking trooper in and when the trooper attempting to blindside him attacked he ducked as the two troopers' vibroweapons hit each other he then extended his hands and spun with both sabers...cutting the two in half. 

The other was lucky enough to get close and slash Ranma on the cheek, the Sith trooper screamed in joy and tried to do more damage, but suddenly was caught in a Force Whirlwind leaving him unable to fight and then before he knew it, Ranma used the Force to send him slamming into a nearby tree. The Vibrosword he had held was in the air and Ranma kicked it sending it to follow it's wielder and the Sith Trooper got his weapon back...in his stomach as the weapon held him in the face of the tree with the rest of the edge appearing on the other side of the tree. The Sith Trooper could only gurgle as he bled to death as his blood flowed from the wound. 

Only the leader and two of his Sith Troopers were left along with the Eleven other Bladeborn. 

"Damn you!!!"

The leader screamed in rage as the Bladeborn merely watched the fight. 

The three remaining Sith Troopers attacked but they didn't have to last long, the two troopers attacked, one with a double-vibroblade and the other with a pair of Krath Blood Blades, Krath weapons had the advantage of both being highly poisonous and cortosis protected so Ranma had his work cut out for him as the leader was still going at full auto with his repeater rifle, keeping Ranma on the defensive as the two troopers open fired with their blades. As he blocked them the leader then suddenly threw what appeared to be both plasma and frag grenades at them...apparently the Sith didn't care if he killed his own troopers with the weapons...as long as Ranma was dead. 

The explosions were blinding and when the light cleared the leader smirked in his face armour as he looked, but before he could do much he saw his rifle being crushed and he dropped the weapon with a snarl as he spotted the figure coming from the smoke.

"I'll get you for that..."

That was the only phrase he heard when he was suddenly dragged to the figure and was kicked hard in the stomach as he got up he took out his own Vibrosword and was barely able to block an incoming lightsaber strike that nearly took his arm off. He got up and dueled with Ranma as the smoke cleared, but when he was able to attack the Jedi and also get a slight slash in, he was disarmed when Ranma struck at the area of the Vibrosword above the hilt where there was no cortosis weave. The Sith trooper however wasn't giving up the easily as he drew out a spare Vibrosword and attacked again, but that failed as Ranma sidestepped and jammed both lightsabers into his target. His blue lightsaber pierced the heart and his silver lightsaber right in the neck. The leader died without a sound as Ranma removed his sabers from his dead standing corpse as it fell.

Ranma had several injuries, some minor burns from the plasma grenades and the frags had wounded him in certain areas of his arms but they were non-fatal due to his reinforced robes, training, conditioning, and the Force. The cut on his cheek had stopped bleeding as he walked away from the carnage and now faced the eleven Anzati Bladeborn who merely smiled with relish, the humanoids enjoyed the show as they were now itching to slay Ranma as the smell of the carnage also fueled their hunger and blood-lust.

Ranma readied himself as he sensed that they were coming...and he was right as several of the Bladeborn Force leaped at him while the others used Force Speed to run up to him.

The real test for him was about to begin as this would be the third time he faced the Sith Bladeborn in combat. And even then it was never easy taking out Bladeborn as some of his previous scars had taught him when he faced them before. 

--------------

The first Bladeborn struck with a slash from his Sith Sword and was blocked by Ranma and another attacked and was blocked, but Ranma immediately leaped backwards as the next one armed with two Sith Swords attacked, had he not he would have either been disarmed literally or beheaded, Ranma then flipped and twisted in mid-air as the Bladeborn launched stones at him at high speed like bullets using the Force. As Ranma landed he made a powerful twist and ducked as another Bladeborn attacked with his Sith Sword from behind, Ranma then blocked another Bladeborn from stabbing him in the back.

Ranma then managed to use the Force to knock one Bladeborn back and fought with the other, he had barely blocked an attack when the Bladeborn struck with a poisoned knife and Ranma barely evaded the Sith alchemy created poison. He then landed a powerful kick into the guts of the attacking Bladeborn. The Bladeborn attacked and was about to slash at Ranma's chest when Ranma landed a kick to the arm making the Bladeborn vulnerable enough for him to slice both arms off with his sabers at the elbows and before the Anzati could scream her rage at him...he knocked her back with a Force Wave, the powerful variant of the Force Push smashed hard into the Anzati and the sounds of her bones being broken by the hit of the attack...she died as she was tossed aside.

Ranma barely had time to relax as another Bladeborn came at him with two Sith Swords. This one however had used Force Leap and got behind Ranma and before he could do anything, the Bladeborn hit him with a Force Push, knocking him aside and hitting the ground. Ranma rolled and managed to block the Anzati's two Sith Swords, he blocked one but the other was sent right at him, he barely got his Force Barrier on time but not before the blade bypassed his robes and cut him. The Anzati's blood crazed yellow eyes were terrifying as he extended his proboscis to try and get a taste of Ranma's soup before killing the Jedi.

He however didn't that chance when Ranma used his Force Scream, using controlled amounts of his anger and the Force to power the attack. The sonic scream powered by the Force made the Anzati back away in pain from the attack...allowing Ranma to kick him off and then as the Bladeborn recovered he was beset by Ranma how then side-stepped an attack and landed a Force enhanced kick on the knee of the Anzati making the humanoid Sith scream in pain and his voice was silenced when Ranma decapitated him with both his sabers.

The Jedi barely had the chance to relax as two Bladeborn fired more debris at him, this time they were rocks the size of baseballs. Ranma went on the defensive and used Soresu to destroy the rocks, he moved forward with his sabers and used Force Deflection, and he then leaped into the air and tossed his blue lightsaber like a spear at one of the Bladeborn. The Anzati female managed to deflect the saber and was about to mock Ranma but she barely had the chance as Ranma rushed up to her Force Speed and improved his physical skills using Force Valor...he got the Anzati and slashed off her left arm, but the Anzati didn't care as the stench of her own cauterized flesh and blood drove her into a killing frenzy as she attacked with her other arm, forcing Ranma back, but not before Ranma telekinetically lifted his blue saber and the blade attacked the Anzati Bladeborn in the back as Ranma leaped over her as the saber stabbed her in the back of her shoulders, Ranma turned and took out his saber and deactivated it and went in dueling mode as the other Bladeborn who also dueled with him. 

"Not bad...for a filthy Jedi, we're going to love the taste of your soup!" The second female Anzati screamed in relish...her Sith training and violent nature giving her berserker tendencies as she attacked viciously at Ranma. 

"Taste this Sith scum!!!"

Ranma blocked her next attack and launched an Echani strike punch on the face of his target and when the female Anzati reeled in pain, Ranma grabbed the nearby proboscis and ripped it out, making the female Anzati scream in unholy pain and rage. So much in fact that her concentration was shattered and she was stabbed right in the guts by Ranma who then took out his silver saber and with one slash took off the Bladeborn's sword arm... but before she died the Sith fired her own Force Scream and Ranma...disorienting him and allowing another of her kin to land a blow to Ranma's side...the Sith Sword bit deep through the Matukai robes, and drew blood, but Ranma's martial instincts allowed him to center himself and move away...the wound was being treated by the Bio-restorative underlay so Ranma used the Force to dull the pain and heal the wound.

The Anzati smiled demonically and licked Ranma's blood off his Sith Sword and screamed as if he loved the taste and he attacked Ranma in a suicidal frenzy. 

Ranma wasted little time and blocked the attacks of the blood crazed Anzati as both fought to a stalemate, but the Jedi know that he could ill-afford to focus on one Bladeborn while others were in the area, all baying for the chance to kill him. 

The Bladeborn attacked with a flurry of blows and Ranma leaped back on top of the nearby boulder, the Anzati followed him and tried to take him down, But Ranma leaped with the Force and slashed the female Anzati in mid-air...the Anzati's upper half fell to the ground and she bled to death while her lower half was still twitching. 

Three Bladeborn attacked in unison, driving Ranma back as he dodged, blocked, parried and weaved as the blades flashed everywhere in many angels, he then leaped over them and one of the other Bladeborn was able to attack Ranma and strike out and hit Ranma square in the chest with a slash, the blade bit through the robes but Ranma had moved back in time and then struck with his other lightsaber, the Bladeborn had forgotten that Ranma carried two sabers and paid for it as Ranma ignited the saber as soon as he revealed it...the blue blade activating right when the weapon was facing the open mouth of the Bladeborn, skewering her through the head.

Ranma leaped back as the two Bladeborn tossed their weapons at him, using the Force to guide their weapons, Ranma had barely leaped up into the air and twisted his body in time as the blades barely struck him...nearly inches from him. As soon as he landed he fired a Force Wave to knock the two Bladeborn back from him and when they were stunned he took up his double lightsaber and with amazing speed attributed to the Force, he leaped up behind the two and before they could fight back slashed them into two headless and armless corpses with two precise swings.

The last three Bladeborn looked on...normal people would have run in stark terror...but the Anzati never ran from a fight, and certainly not Bladeborn Anzati! The leader and the last two attacked with another barrage of attacks and Ranma blocked them as best he could but was hit by both a Force Scream and a Force Push from the two Bladeborn. He was disoriented, but not lost as he managed to avoid the next attacks from both Bladeborn and with amazing quickness got into both of them as they surrounded him when he supposedly had deactivated his lightsaber, but he re-ignited the weapon and the purple blades impaled both Bladeborn the chest like meat on a spit and Ranma ripped out the weapon, cutting them both into two smoking halves and that just left Ranma and the Masterblade. he deactivated his double-lightsaber and took out his custom built lightsabers.

-------------- 

The Sith pilots were frustrated as they tried desperately to send a comm. transmission to the home fleet, but it turned out that the Jedi had somehow disrupted their communications. 

"Check the systems!!! That blasted Jedi must have damaged the transmitters!"

But they had no warning as one of their navigators' screamed and the crew saw him to have been impaled by a Vibrosword and out of the blue came a Zeltron woman wearing a Cinnagar War suit and as they tried to fight with their own blasters, the Zeltron took out her blaster pistols and the room was filled with blaster fire. The elder pilot bled like a stuck pig when several blaster bolts tore into his face and chest as he fell on the control panels. The younger pilot had no time to scream when the Zeltron tossed a flash grenade at them and the two Sith crew were blinded badly and that allowed the Zeltron woman to blast the last navigator with a shot to the chest and another to the throat and then the Zeltron came in and slashed off the arm of the young pilot and he died after another slash to his throat.

Ly'sandra had managed to sneak in using her Stealth Generator and went to work by downloading a corruption virus into the nav-com of the Sith Ship to scramble and ruin the coordinate module to ensure that the Sith would not transmit the location of Earth. She had wanted to aid Ranma when she arrived right after Ranma had taken out the Sith troopers...but she knew she would stand no chance with the eleven Bladeborn she saw. Now that the crew of the Sith were taken out of the picture and their nav-com corrupted...all she could do was watch as Ranma crossed blades with the Sith Tremor Sword wielding Masterblade. 

-------------- 

Ranma and the last Bladeborn fought it out with the sounds of lightsabers against Cortosis protected blade. Ranma had been able to hold his own, but unlike the ten other slain Bladeborn, a Masterblade ranked Bladeborn was no easy opponent. And he was not above using the Force, as Ranma was knocked back and was caught in a Force Choke, he clawed at his throat as the Sith fighter tried to choke him to death. The Anzati smiled sadistically as he held Ranma off his feet. 

"You ARE a worthy foe Jedi...but now you will die!" 

"Wrong...a...again...Sith...I...will...not be...beaten by...you!"

Ranma then fired a powerful Force Wave that sent the Anzati back and broke the Force Choke and Ranma recovered but his senses were reeling hard, and his exhaustion made him move back a bit. The Bladeborn wasted no time as he attacked with renewed Rage. Ranma had to move back once more and then fired a Force Push to stun the Bladeborn...the last Anzati then fired Force Lightning at Ranma who managed to ground the blast of electrical energy with his saber to the ground, but the Bladeborn was unrelenting and attacked once the Lightning dissipated. Ranma was tired and had been able to block the attacks but was then kicked in the gut by the Anzati who then wounded Ranma by stabbing with his Tremor Sword and pierced Ranma's armored robe and hit the right shoulder...making Ranma bleed. Ranma moved back as the Anzati reveled in the blood he spilled and licked it off reverently from the edge of his sword. 

"Now you die and I will have a glorious feast!!!" 

The Bladeborn then leaped at the kneeling Jedi, ready to take Ranma's head off, The Jedi seemed defeated and the Anzati felt victory was his...but he was too late when Ranma fired a Force Flash at his eyes. When the light faded the Bladeborn found his weapons in the ground...and a sharp burning pain was on his chest...he looked and two lightsaber blades were protruding from his chest. Ranma had been able to move fast enough to dodged the blades and jam both his sabers into his foe. Ranma then took out the blades, but the Anzati spoke even in death. 

"You...may...h...ha...have...won, Jedi...but we Sith...will...NEVER...leave this...galaxy...soon...the Dark Side will...RULE ALL!!" 

Ranma got close and replied.

"As long as I am alive...and so is the Republic and Jedi...the Dark Side will never darken this universe." 

The sounds of both Ranma's lightsabers hissing in the air was heard...along with sound of spilled blood and burned flesh as the now headless Anzati Bladeborn fell dead. 

Ranma looked at the Sith Ship and began to use his training in the healing arts of the Force to heal him and gain the strength to finish this task. He then sensed another presence...but relaxed as he spotted Ly'sandra coming towards him. The Zeltron female came up and helped Ranma as they walked to deal with the Sith Ship and use Ranma's supplies. 

"Thanks..."

Ly'sandra smiled. "No need...you saved my life many times, I'm happy to pay you back. We've got some work left to do...you up for it Ranma?" 

"Aren't I always?"

--------------

Later...

Nodoka was deep in worry as she looked at her sleeping son. It had been two to three hours when Ranma and Ly'sandra had returned and though she was shocked to see the extent of Ranma's injuries, she was happy that he was still alive. He assured her that before he came back here to Earth, he had been in worse spots and this was what he wanted to do...save the universe from the Dark Side. 

Ly'sandra assured her that he would be fine as he rested in his ship's medical bay with Kolto being applied to his wounds along with sealing bandages and medpacs. Nodoka grasped the use of the medical supplies quickly and was relieved later that Ranma would be fine as his Force abilities would speed up the healing rates naturally 

Before coming here, Ranma had helped take all the bodies of the slain Sith Troopers and Bladeborn...and stored them into the ship, they then put the ship on auto-pilot and sent it at top speed into the sun to be destroyed. After that, they also salvaged the weapons of the Sith scouting party and destroyed the rest before they left the scene before the police came into the area. 

--------------

The police of Nerima was baffled as they looked at the scene...it looked like a real gang war had happened here, and there was a LOT of blood, but no bodies, no bullet shells, no discarded weapons...not even tire tracks of getaway vehicles. This was a mystery. 

Up in space...the Sith Scout vessel was consumed by the heat of the Sun and was destroyed, the explosion like a speck of dust in the wind when seen since the sun's naturally occurring eruptions covered the destruction of the vessel 

For now...Earth was kept safe from Sith detection and invasion...but for how long? 

-------------- 

To be continued...

--------------

Author's notes:

Hah…now that was fun…and Ranma pulls off a victory on the Sith…but don't relax just yet as there is still a chance the Sith might send more scouting parties…and much larger ones this time around.

Ranma survives by the skin of his teeth with the Bladeborn and now has to recover…and it seems that since it will be the weekends…he would be able to get the chance as his friends and his mother plan to relax…

At the beach…

But knowing the chaos that follows our Jedi Knight…will he be able to find peace even in the beach?

We'll just have to wait and see now won't we?

See you there and grab those swimming clothes…it's going to get wet and wild…(NOT THAT WAY!!!)


	13. Sand, Surf, and Surprises

Ranma / Knights of the Old Republic

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma or Knights of the Old Republic…If I did own them…I wouldn't be writing this now would I?

Chapter 10A

Sand, Surf, and Surprises…

( ): Thoughts

The Yamatsu Residence…

Ukyo, Shampoo, and Cologne were happy that today was a weekend, the two teens had done their assignments early last night and were now free to have a break. They naturally had the desire to relax and have fun and so they headed in the direction of Ranma's home, they still wondered what was the slight chill they had felt in the night air last night and when it faded they began to relax better. 

But as soon as they came into the manor, Ly'sandra opened the door and let them in, instead of Nodoka. 

"What are you doing here Lyss? Where's Miss Nodoka, or Ran-chan?" Ukyo asked. 

"Yeah, where Ranma? Flame-haired woman?" Shampoo asked. 

The disguised Zeltron merely replied. "We both had to deal with some unwanted company from the outer regions of space, didn't you read the newspapers today?" 

The trio recalled the reports about what sounded like a massive fight when the people saw and heard what sounded like explosions, weapons fire, and the sounds of intense combat. But they also heard that when the police came into the area, they found only massive pools of blood, and destruction...no bodies, no weapons, no bullets, no tire tracks...nothing. What this had to do with Ly'sandra and Ranma was still a mystery. 

That was when Ranma and Nodoka came into the room, but Ranma had several bandages, one on his shoulder, his side, and other smaller bandages on him, but he looked as if he was recovering rather nicely despite the bandages were still on him. 

"Are you sure you will be all right Ranma?"

Nodoka asked her son as she helped him to the living room. She had been a bit tired from taking care of her son, applying medpacs, bandages, and kolto packs and also checking on his wounds once in a while, she and Ly'sandra were on the _Ghost Warrior_ to treat Ranma. 

"I am fine mom, all I need to do now is get to eat."

The young Jedi said, but he was surprised to sense the presence of Ukyo, Shampoo, and Elder Cologne. All of them were also shocked to see him in his state. 

"Ran-chan!!! What happened to you?!" 

"Aiyah! Is Ranma fine?!" 

"Ranma...what happened to you?!" 

The Jedi sighed and spoke to them as he sat down on the nearby couch.

"I had a little run-in with the Sith." 

-------------- 

Later...after break-fast... 

Ranma removed his bandages and his body looked wholesome and fully restored, with only minor scratches from the last fight, due to his training, physical conditioning, and the Force, he would be fine. The girls were relieved but were also a bit worried when Ranma and Ly'sandra explained what had happened between the Jedi Knight and the Sith Scouting Party. The three were a bit silent at how Ranma had dealt with the Sith Troopers and the Bladeborn, but they were then shown by Ranma through the Force and the holo-vids on how cruel the True Sith were, and though he disliked becoming what he had become last night...he had no choice, the group was too deeply immersed in the Dark Side to be redeemed. They thought about it and nodded slowly, they sensed that hadn't Ranma done those things, he would not be alive and the Sith would have taken over.

On the regard they feared the Sith would come back, but Ranma assured them that both he and Ly'sandra had taken care of that by corrupting the nav-com, jammed their transmissions, and finally sent the ship into the Earth's sun. The Sith would take that as the failure of the Scouts and write them off as failures. 

The girls then suggested that since it was a weekend, they all needed a break...and Nodoka agreed and asked what the girls had in mind. The group smiled and said...

"The beach!"

Nodoka agreed wholeheartedly with the idea and wanted her son to take a break while she took also the time to rest and relax from her days of working in the house, training in her swordsmanship, and making her soon to be completed doctorate. Ranma wasn't entirely convinced that this was such a good idea, but the chance to wind down and relax was tempting, he recalled doing the same things when he was still in the Republic and relaxing with his adopted families and teachers.

"All right, you all meet me here in the manor, I'll be waiting." Ranma said as he went to pack the supplies they needed for the trip. 

Ukyo, Shampoo, and Ly'sandra were VERY eager to finally have this chance with Ranma and so they too would be interested to see him when he wasn't either in the school or in the battle-field, plus they too would bring their own food to add to the festivities. Cologne decided that it was time for the Neko-Hanten to extend it's business to the rest of the public. Their cafe was certainly popular and that helped a good deal. 

Ranma hoped that he didn't have to worry about anything else or anyone for that matter. 

--------------

Back at a certain dojo...

Soun Tendo was busy looking at the day's newspaper while staying away from the certain room. He shook in fear on occasion when an oath came out. A few days before his master the dreaded Grandmaster of the anything Goes had returned fully irate and in extreme rage and had locked himself with the rest of his already gained treasures, and had not left the room ever since. He had heard that his master had been seen near the school and though he was coward, he had been afraid that Nabiki and Akane would hit by the old master...but he was surprised to hear from them that they were fine.

He was even more shocked to learn that Happosai had been severely beaten by Akane and Nabiki's classmate, the one named Koujima Yamatsu. In the Tendo Patriarch's mind...anyone who was much younger than Happosai would stand no chance against his master, but he had been beaten by Koujima with what appeared to be minimal effort at all. For now he let that slid as he checked the calendar, Genma was still not around with his son, so he decided to wait. he then thought that it was time for his family to take a break...but where...

Then he had an idea...

"Akane, Nabiki, Kasumi, please come here." 

"What is it dad?" 

All three sisters came into the living room, Akane was still in her gi while fighting in the dojo, against a practice dummy looking like a certain Jedi Knight. Nabiki was busy finishing the account books and checked the savings of her family, along with digging on more data on a certain young man. Kasumi was still in her normal clothes including her apron. 

"I think it is time we all took a chance at having a break, don't you think so?" 

Nabiki thought about it, a chance to relax was certainly tempting. Akane thought about it and hoped that she didn't have to deal with boys there, namely Kouji Yamatsu. And Kasumi sighed at the thought of getting a break from her duties, though she was very comfortable in doing chores, she too liked a chance to relax a bit. 

"But what about the house...and you know who?"

Nabiki then pointed to their home and a certain gnome. 

Soun was considering it when Happosai merely said. 

"Go...I wish to be alone!" 

Soun took that as a good sign and whispered to his daughters.

"I think it means we can go...the master still hasn't recovered yet. I guess we can leave him here, he hasn't left the room in three days now." 

"I see..." Kasumi said as she tidied up the table. "Where do we go today father?"

The eldest daughter asked in her usual cheerful tone. 

Soun smiled as he pointed to a certain picture to a certain place... 

The picture was of the beach. 

--------------

In a certain home of a certain bokken wielding nut… 

"I'll be at the beach with the others of my class brother dear! Don't wait up for me since I will be very busy today!" A female voice said as she walked out with her clothes and bathing suit in the pack.

A certain young man merely replied. "Be very careful out there dear sister and beware on any peasants that would try to befoul the noble air around you with their stench!" 

"Sasuke! I want you to keep an eye on my sister and report to me your findings!" 

"At once master!" 

(Guess who else is going to the beach today?) 

-------------- 

Later... 

"Ah...this is nice!"

Ukyo said as she was still in her cooking garb and battle uniform, along with her spatulas. The gang had taken the time to go shopping for some swim wear, Ranma had stuck to a pair of black bermuda shorts and he had pretty much left the rest of the gang, including Shampoo, Ukyo, Ly'sandra, and Nodoka free reign to by their swim-wear, keeping out of the thing as the ladies went to buy the items, no way was he going there so he went and bought some things for a barbeque. He saw them all having smiles and he had a nagging feeling in his guts. Ukyo certainly had a smile on her face and the way that smile was going made Ranma rather cautious.

"You said it! I got to hand it to you Ranma...you're world's got good beaches."

Ly'sandra said with a smile as she had loosened her hair. The Zeltron had worn a pair of skin tight soft leather pants, boots, and a halter-top, getting quite the reception when they were at the mall as men were either tripping over things, male mall personnel running over things, spilling coffee, and making mistakes...and the women responded in kind with shocked whispers glaring looks and the sounds of slapping hitting an all time high. She had a smile on her too...and Ranma, having been familiar with Zeltron behavior knew that this was going to be trouble. 

"Aiyah...warm sun here...hope Shampoo can relax while working!"

Shampoo said with glee as she looked at the warm sands and seas. The teen was still somewhat uninhibited since she wore a short pink Chinese dress with red lining and flower patterns, her young and no doubt curvaceous looks added to the package as she too sent a fair number of men into making jack-asses out themselves. The Chinese teen also had a smile on her face, full of mischief and cuteness...all she needed now were cat ears! 

"I agree...it has been some time since I had been in the beach."

Nodoka said, the elder Saotome Matriarch was happy that she got the chance to relax along with her son...and his female friends, she knew just WHAT the girls had brought and she too had decided to let loose for a bit, just to be the young woman that she was.

She may have come from a traditional family, but her mother allowed her to be free on a number of things, namely learning swordsmanship and medicine, and this was another of them. Ranma saw the blush she had in her face when she pocketed the bag she had from the mall and he felt that this was certainly NOT going to make things boring around here.

He then faced them and replied.

"I'll go look for a good spot and find Elder Cologne's stall. I'll set up there and I'll wait for you while you all...uh...change."

"All right!" The girls then moved aside as they headed for the changing rooms. 

-------------- 

"Are you sure I can wear this?"

Kasumi asked Nabiki as she and both her sisters made their way to the changing rooms to the other side of the beach...the eldest sister wondered if such...clothing was appropriate for where they were

(Got to love the naiveté of Kasumi!)

"Relax sis! This is the beach and what I have bought is worth it, you'd look real nice!"

Nabiki loved Kasumi for her hardworking and strong nature. The eldest sister became house-caretaker, cook, cleaner, laundrywoman, shopper, and mother figure. She worked hard to cook and clean the house and try to get Akane to be more lady-like though she knew that their youngest sister never did it at all. Nabiki at times thought that Kasumi was being too nice…

But overall Nabiki respected her eldest sister for all her hard work and the chance to let her sister experience fun and life outside the house was worth it in her mind, she may be acting naive most of the time...but she had her own gifts and Nabiki wanted her to taste life and grasp it...even for only a few hours.

"Let's hurry up...as much as I want to be have fun, I'd love it more if no perverts were nearby...why do I even have to wear this?!"

Akane asked as she looked at her swim-suit. 

"Geez Akane, just relax and enjoy the beach for once."

Nabiki sighed. Since she bought a lot of things from her earning and used some of the funds for the upkeep of the house and to buy anything she loved to have...and the chance to flaunt it was tempting, though she wished she had a guy to share that time with. She loved her selection and liked the idea for what she wanted Kasumi to wear...but she hoped that Akane didn't insult the one she picked her with her short fuse. 

-------------- 

"Hohohoho!!! This is perfect for me! The Black Rose deserves the best!"

The voice and laughter spoke volumes on how loose in the head was the person, but the fact that she had a body most girls her age only dreamed of added to that, although her eccentric and somewhat insane mannerisms were as attractive as tear gas. She however smiled at the chance to flaunt her beauty and away from her overbearing brother...

Now who was the best target of her glorious affections today?

-------------- 

Several others were also on the scene...all hoping for a quiet break from the hassle of daily life. 

-------------- 

Later... 

Cologne was busy handing out orders for their Chinese foods while she was being helped by Mousse and Ranma who arrived and after setting his place and getting the gear and materials he and the others had bought, decided to lend his aid to the distribution... 

That is...Ranma was helping and Mousse was messing up. 

The male Amazon tried to attack Ranma every chance he got, trying to mess up his orders and make his work miserable...but three things were making his attempts fail. The first was Ranma's Force and combat hardened senses and reflexes. The second was Cologne's watchful glare at him every second...and the last was the two's response to his attempts to take out Ranma. 

The customers were happy to be served such good Chinese food, while the female beach goers were more interested in Ranma. His tall and well formed frame, plus his muscles made them all want to sink their teeth into him like lions eating on a zebra. His battle hardened and conditioned frame spoke volumes in power, speed, grace, skill, and precision. Not to mention his handsome and well formed face was a plus, and his deep blue eyes radiated power and skill. He was like a being molded by the Gods...and that was the case as many women had made MANY discreet and somewhat indiscreet passes at him.

All that made Ranma nervous...until he sensed the arrival of Ukyo, Shampoo, Ly'sandra, and his mother through the Force. 

"Ranma! Care to see what we've bought from the mall?"

Ranma steeled himself a bit and turned. His desire to relax and treat this as a normal thing was broken as he saw the drooling, lust filled, and love struck expressions of the men on this section of the beach and the other areas as well as the men looked at the direction of the voice of Ly'sandra. 

Ranma was stunned like he was hit by a blaster bolt at full stun in the brain as he gazed at his female companions 

The swim-suits the four wore certainly warranted the attention of the male populace as well as Ranma! 

-------------- 

Ukyo was dressed in a very interesting one piece bathing suit with her hair still in it's normal configuration with the white ribbon. The one piece had various shades of colors, ranging from red, green, gold, blue-green, blue, light pink...the colors reminded him of the various coronas and space clouds of gas and energy that he had seen when flying his ship in his war days. The suit also revealed Ukyo's own well built form and excluded her sexiness.

The one piece had a collar with the same color scheme and the look made her appear like a walking sexy goddess of various hues while her long arms and sexy legs were shown. Her bust was now devoid of her chest wrappings, and since the bathing suit held...it was a good move on her part to wear it. Plus when Ukyo turned to show Ranma her suit, the back was exposed along with her well shaped posterior...which the one piece managed to hold. 

Shampoo still had her normal hair style, but she had wet the hair a bit allowing the soft purple silken strands to be seen along with her deep blue eyes. She had a bikini that had purple straps on them and allowed her full form to be revealed. The upper portion of the bikini must have been modified to stretch without discomfort as Shampoo's...chest was threatening to spill but it was held back, her form was utterly screaming sensuality...no doubt due to being a martial artist through and through, had shown as her slender yet muscled arms were shown bare...and her long, well toned and slim legs were seen, along with her toned stomach and hips which were still very womanly.

The bikini was deep blue and showed her eyes and as a show of her own feminine side, the bikini had flower designs on them. She also showed her form to Ranma by turning around, thus her entire backside was revealed...every curve and swell of it...along with her posterior. 

Ly'sandra however certainly lived up to her Zeltron blood as her thong bikini was enough to cause a massive loss of blood to the brain in males as they would either be rapidly nose bleeding...or all their blood had somehow pooled in their shorts and briefs. Her outfit had deep red straps that ran over her shoulders and hips and ended in knots. Due to her being in great physical shape plus being a trained fighter and acrobat as required for nimble scouts...Ly'sandra had her fair share of muscle, along with the curves and swells in ALL the right places.

And since it was a thong...it certainly managed, though barely to hide Ly'sandra's upper...assets along with her...other attributes. Her own well formed and muscled arms and legs were also seen and to really spike Ranma in the brain, she too turned a full one hundred eighty degrees to show her sensual backside and the triangle of material barely covering it well enough. The only good thing was that Ly'sandra was decent enough NOT to release her species' pheromones...that would have really been asking for trouble!!!

Nodoka had removed her hair from it's bun and the tresses were now in a brown waterfall behind his mother. She wore her own one piece and it had a collar of soft material with light blue lining and purple. This one piece resembled in some ways a female Chinese dress, but was very attractive. Her own arms and legs were shown, showing the small but considerable muscles she developed both as a housewife and a sword user.

Ranma merely shook his head, had they not been related, he would have never suspected she was his mother. He didn't mind since he was comfortable with his mom, though he felt angry when the bloody men leered at his mother. He resisted the urge to call them perverts for leering at his mom, Ranma let it be...his mom did tell him about her own life, before marrying to Genma and she had been placed in the same boat as she was in now and she was used to it since she wasn't always the traditional woman, but was very much full of virtue before marrying Ranma's father.

All in all Ranma admitted that all of his company...was hot!

As the girls greeted Ranma...he could almost feel intense jealousy encompass the whole area as the women were steaming at how close the women were to Ranma...while the men were blazing furious that he as the only one getting all the hot ladies' affection. 

-------------- 

Ranma was being helped set up the volleyball net by Shampoo while Ukyo, Ly'sandra, and Nodoka handled the cooking of their food with the nearby. Nodoka brought her cooking skills to the fore preparing traditional Japanese foods, along with tea, while Ukyo, who still had her spatulas nearby, began cooking some okonomiyaki, the way Ran-Chan loved it...while Ly'sandra cooked her own food using Western style dishes. They planned to cook first and have a normal feast before relaxing in the sun. 

All the while, the men were gazing at the girls Ranma was with and were shocked when they found out that one of the women was actually the younger man's mother. The rest were his child-hood friends and the redhead was a friend of the guy's mother. Some of the more lecherous guys tried to get closer, but a glare from Cologne warned them to back off...and amazingly enough Mousse was doing the same thing...apparently though he hated Ranma's closeness to his Shampoo...he certainly wasn't going to let anyone else get closer to her.

As soon as they were done cooking, and Ranma had finally set up the volleyball net. the group sat on their blanket that could allow five people on it as they began passing around the food to one another, while Cologne nodded and looked on while ordering Mousse to keep working on what she had asked of him, though Mousse was dying to get closer to Shampoo, a strike from the Elder's staff to his head made him think twice from the idea...though not for too long.

As they finished eating, Ranma and the others began to sunbath...while the Jedi merely went into a lotus position nearby while leaving the four ladies to sunbath. But that was when three of them asked if he could put some lotion on them to prevent them from getting sunburn.

"Can you put some lotion on me Kou-chan?" 

"Aiyah...me want same thing!!!" 

"I hope you don't mind Koujima to do the same?" 

Ly'sandra however merely shook her head and answered. "That's all right...I don't mind tanning a bit." 

The others wondered how such a flaming redhead would tolerate the heat...however Ranma already knew that since she had come from a world with higher than normal radiation, Ly'sandra would never suffer sun-burn, in fact she reveled in the heat and considered it to be light, the chemical may change her skin tone to be that of normal human skin, but her people's high tolerance to the radiation and their permanent pigment shielding still remained despite the change in skin color. Shampoo, Ukyo, and Nodoka were already aware so they didn't mind.

Ly'sandra however decided to take the lotion bottle and do the same for Nodoka instead of Ranma/Koujima...since considering how she dressed right now, it would be hard as hell for the men to picture Ranma and Nodoka as parent and child. Though she did it carefully so as to make sure that her actions were not misinterpreted by the other people in the area. 

Mousse had previously tried to get involved, but a strike to his head from Cologne sent him flying back to the Neko-Hanten...and she screamed the orders for him to get more supplies from the cafe. 

With that...Ranma took a slight gulp as he began to help apply the suntan lotion on the backs of both Ukyo and Shampoo. And as he was doing this...a certain someone came on the scene. 

"Hello Koujima-san...can I ask you if I can join you?"

The person was none other than Hinako Ninomiya...and in her adult form...apparently she had found a way to be in adult form and from what her Force aura told Ranma...the energy was very strong, but this wasn't from humans, but from animals, and he noticed that she still took good care of the animals. He was happy that she hadn't given into the addictive side yet of her incomplete Force Drain technique. But since she was in her adult form...she was looking very sensual right now...namely in her own outfit.

She still had her hair the same way, but had ditched her normal outfit and was looking as if she was in the mood for a day in the beach. She had on a one piece swimsuit that was black and white in color and had straps...all placed on effective parts of the outfit and the black and white scheme gave her the yin/yang look, and that coupled with her adult form that was well covered and shown in all it's curves, and swells by the swim-suit made her look like a real babe. 

Nodoka wondered who this person was.

"Who are you and how did you know my son?" 

Hinako bowed respectfully to Nodoka and replied.

"My name is Hinako Ninomiya and I happen to be a teacher in Furinkan High, I know your son since he has been one of the model students there in our school...and he helped me deal with some...shall we say...unsavory characters when we met." 

"I see..."

Nodoka looked at her son for confirmation and he spoke to her through telepathy, a trick he developed a few months before coming to Earth, but only had recently used it due to him turning it off when he faced the Sith and the Bladeborn. 

_Long story mother..._

_You can tell me some other time son...by the way...I don't recommend you do what she might ask...namely placing lotion on her, the people nearby might have heard that she is your teacher and you know the results if the misinterpret it if you do that._

_Right..._

He was aware of the situation that would occur, relationships between teachers and students was a taboo in Japan and the last thing he wanted was to be in trouble...back in school Hinako didn't do it, but outside of school she was friendly with him and he didn't want the others nearby to misinterpret the whole thing. 

"Sure Hinako-san."

Apparently, Hinako knew that too and when she sat down she was very much normal when she spoke to Ranma and the rest of the gang as they merely relaxed as their day in the beach wore on...

-------------- 

An hour or two later...when the girls were tanned...Ly'sandra made the move to get the festivities started..after she had placed the sun-tan lotion on Hinako. 

"Anyone care to play some volleyball?" She smirked in pure naughty mischief. 

All of them nodded while Nodoka declined since she had not played volleyball since she was in high-school and she was not the best player anyway. The others however had been familiar with the sport since they had gone to school and were still in it. 

Hinako, Ukyo, Shampoo, and Ly'sandra got into position on either side of the set-up net and began to play a few rounds of volleyball, while Nodoka and Ranma watched them play the game. Hinako and Ly'sandra on one side while Shampoo and Ukyo on the other side. 

Ranma loved the game and apparently so did the rest of the male beach-goers as a crowd of them gathered to watch the game. 

-------------- 

Naturally, this crowd gets the attention of certain individuals... 

"Hmm...what's going on over there?" One of three sisters asked as she walked ahead of the rest of the trio. 

"Oh my...it seems to be rather lively." The other sister spoke as she was wearing a light but comfortable wind breaker jacket as she walked with her two sisters. 

"Whatever it is...I bet those perverted boys will be part of it...I am not going closer, see you guys back at the food stand with dad. Be careful, those boys might try something!"

The apparently youngest sister said as she moved back to where they had come from, while giving unfriendly glares to any teen males passing by who looked at her. 

(I should have known it was a lost cause...Akane is SO dense that she thinks ALL boys are perverts...it's a miracle she still has that crush for Dr. Tofu after all these years!)

Nabiki sighed as she looked at her retreating and violent sister. 

Akane had been decked in a bikini with the theme of two sides with different patterns, one side had pure gold on it, and the other side had gold with white strips on it, same could be said with the lower half.

Akane did try to keep in shape and she did have a good figure and form...but naturally her hostile take on boys and her short temper acted like high grade tear gas that sent the boys running away from her as if she was the plague. Nabiki sighed as she realized that her efforts to try and let her sister be more feminine had gone down the tube...that made her want to find out what was drawing the crowd even more.

"Come on Kasumi...let's take a look at what the crowd is looking at."

Nabiki said as she moved in and began to call people to stand aside and let them pass...most of the guys were looking at Nabiki and though a few recognized her as an information weasel, they did as she asked, though they wondered who the older girl was following her.

As soon as they came in, they spotted none other than Hinako, Ukyo, Shampoo, and Ly'sandra playing volleyball...much to the looks of lust and desire that the guys were radiating as they looked at the girls and...their...assets. 

Nabiki had no problem knowing how hot Lisa was, along with Shampoo, and Hinako in adult form...but she had a hard time accepting that the girl in the one piece with bright but well placed and toned colors was really Ukyo Kounji. She then turned and spotted none other than Kouji who cheered on his companions in their game while a near middle aged but very attractive woman in a one piece as well was nearby sipping cool tea. She didn't know that Kouji was into older women too. 

(My, quite the playboy...thank Kami-sama Akane did the right thing for once and left...I hate to think of the scene she would have created had she challenged Koujima here.)

She then decided to call Koujima's attention. 

"Hey Koujima!"

She said in a wave...catching Koujima's attention, the Jedi knight looked at wondered who this woman was...she looked familiar for some reason. 

Nabiki was dressed in a one piece suit as well...with the top having no straps and the top were held by a golden ring on the middle, the lower portion had straps of the rest of it in deep purple on the sides and allowed her to reveal her own well built form. Nabiki had her attributes that made her sexy since despite not being a martial artist practitioner, she did aerobics and yoga to keep fit and that made her slim and well formed in her own right...it was no wonder that when she came on the scene the guys also stared at her. It was then that Ranma recognized her. 

"Nabiki Tendo! Good to see you here!"

Koujima replied as he got up from the blanket and shook Nabiki's hand. The middle Tendo sister had to admit that with his attitude in school gone and when he wasn't fighting...Kouji was a real hunk of a teen. Despite her own reservations on the matter she was very much liking the feel of his hands on hers, rough but gentle in the motions. 

"Nice to see you too…oh yeah, this is my older sister Kasumi."

Nabiki said as she moved aside to reveal Kasumi who was still wearing her jacket, even though she wore sun-tan lotion, Kasumi was still very shy...even more so with the choice of swim-suit Nabiki had given her. She looked at Kouji who smiled politely at her. 

"Nice to meet you too Miss Kasumi Tendo."

Koujima said with a cultured greeting and bow. 

(He's very nice...and a gentle-man too...I wonder what is his age?)

Kasumi wondered as she also bowed to Kouji, something about this young man was very intriguing even to her who's only interactions with men were when she shopped for groceries and necessities for the house, borrowing books from their family friend Dr. Tofu, and meeting the repairmen who came to fix the house whenever she saved enough funding to do such things apart from her groceries. 

Nabiki and Kasumi were then introduced by Kouji/Ranma to his mother Nodoka, but used her new legal name of Aya Yamatsu. 

"I'd like you all to meet my mother Aya Yamatsu, mom, this is my classmate in Furinkan High, Nabiki Tendo, and her sister Kasumi."

Aya bowed warmly.

"Pleased to meet you all. You may join us, and if you have not taken any refreshment yet, there is still some food left there."

She pointed to the packed food, they all had halted eating to just relax for a while and would eat later once they had finished the rest of their activities. 

"Thank you Miss Yamatsu."

Both Tendo sisters replied as they watched the game being played still between Hinako, Lisa, Ukyo, and Shampoo. 

As the girls were winding down Ranma decided to move around the beach a bit and see if he could get some other treats, namely some ice cream since they had fruit juice and tea well in hand. As he was getting there...he heard a slight yelp and looked to spot a young woman...apparently the same age as he was and she held her foot as if in pain. 

The girl was swearing silently as she looked at some of the blood that was showing, she sighed as that would mean going to the medical clinic hut in the beach, when she felt he presence of a young man nearby. 

"Here you go...this will get you patched up until you get to the clinic."

She looked about and saw Koujima's face...and was silent as she gazed at his well formed features and deep blue eyes, the girl felt her heart beat wildly as she took in the feel of his strong hands tending to her wound, though pain was not that entirely new to her...it as certainly a first time for her to be taken care of. Then again...having been in an all girl's school all her life...it was hardly surprising that men were a rarity in her school.

(What a man!!!)

Koujima had sensed the warped aura and rather ludicrous nature of the girl he was patching and knowing that she was gazing at him with a kind of feral lust made him VERY aware on how dangerous it was for him to be close to her, he then helped her to her feet. He looked at the girl in question and found her to wear her long black hair in a ponytail on one side of her head. And the sense of her very bad past and dark feelings of loneliness were certainly sending the Jedi's Force Sense from condition yellow to condition red.

The woman may be dark and twisted in some ways, but her outfit certainly made her look like she could stand out in a crowd. She had on a one piece as well, but the front had a long opening in the middle between her breasts and has criss-crossing strips on them, making it look like a bodice...or that of a dominatrix...that description certainly fit the profile in Koujima's mind as the girl looked at him with great intent. 

Before Koujima could say anything, the girl smiled and offered him a bouquet of flowers. "I want to thank you for helping me kind sir, can I know your name?" 

Koujima was VERY wary of the girl but answered. 'My name is Koujima...Koujima Yamatsu."

The way the girl was looking at him made Ranma feel like he had been surrounded by an aviary worth of Hawk Bats..and though Hawk Bats were weak...they certainly didn't shy away from their prey...and Koujima had the same feelings.

That was when he sensed the smell of paralysis powders mixed in the flowers and before the poison could work on him, he quickly used his Force powers to neutralize the poison, the girl didn't notice and had expected him to fall to her...she didn't seem to care if she was being amorous in public...she was in love.

"I have you now!"

She said as she tried to glomp onto Koujima, Koujima however fired a Force Flash, disorienting the woman and quickly ran away while using his Force Cloak taught to him by Juhani to hide from sight after hiding behind a stall.

"My darling prince! Where are you?!"

The girl searched for Koujima but due to her not being Force Sensitive she couldn't pinpoint his exact location, and even if she was, she didn't have the training to bypass Ranma's Force Cloak.

The girl then gave up but smiled warmly and replied.

"I know you can hear me my prince! I will let you go now...but know that the Black Rose of Saint Hebereke High will never let you go...as you have pierced my heart...Hohohoho!!!!"

Koujima felt like he had ice from Hoth flowing up his spine when he heard the laughter. 

(Mental note...HIDE FROM HER AT ALL TIMES!!! )

As soon as the coast was clear, Koujima went to buy the ice cream while keeping a VERY sharp eye for the crazy girl calling herself the Black Rose, her aura seemed familiar and he shuddered at what would have happened had he not neutralized the paralysis powders in the bouquet when he did. 

When he got back, the game was over and the girls were lounging about while Nabiki and Kasumi were chatting with his mother and apparently the older sister had taken off her own jacket. 

She was decked in a bikini, but had nice soft pink as the color, while there was a pretty butterfly on the right side of the upper portion...while the lower half had the same color scheme. Kouji slapped himself a bit for looking at Kasumi, she had a kind and gentle soul and she seemed to radiate the aura of a mother figure to him, just like his own mother. She didn't have a Force aura but her own gentle aura made him respect her. 

The other girls cheered as they ate more food, drank cold fruit juice and tea, and were chatting away, normal folks as can be. Mousse still made himself a bit of a nuisance, but three more staff strikes from Cologne shut him up VERY quickly.

They had time to go swimming and playing volleyball again in the water and when it was already time to relax and soon head home, Kouji bade farewell to Hinako and the two Tendo Sisters as he and his group left the area. 

-------------- 

As night came... 

The Yamatsu family arrived back in their home and then bade farewell to Shampoo, Cologne, Mousse, Ukyo, and Ly'sandra as they went back to their own places of rest, while Kouji went to his bed to rest since they had already eaten a lovely dinner, and before hitting the sack, both he and his mother trained a bit to loosen themselves. 

As he slept he wondered just what was going to happen on his next week-end. 

-------------- 

In the Tendo household... 

"YOU BOTH WERE WITH THAT PERVERTED JERK?!" 

The three Tendo sisters were chatting as Nabiki and Kasumi were now in their normal clothes, along with Akane who was in her pajamas. When she asked what they did, the eldest sister only had to mention Koujima's first name and that got her steamed. 

"Chill Akane...he's no pervert and he certainly is no jerk either...he is very cultured, behaved and very much a great guy when you get to know him...I wish you did too."

Nabiki sighed as she held her towel after getting out of the shower. 

"Oh yes, the young man was a kind gentleman and very polite, why don't you try and be friends with him instead of always trying to fight him?" Kasumi said calmly. 

Akane naturally would have NONE of it.

"I can't believe you two! He's just fooling you with his charm! He wants you to trust him so he can get under your pants and get your panties!!! I'm really going to beat him up for this!!!" 

In that same moment, Akane entered her room and slammed the door.

"Oh boy..."

"Oh my..." 

(Koujima...YOU PERVERT!!! I'LL GET YOU FOR BEING CLOSE TO MY SISTERS!!!!) 

-------------- 

At a certain house... 

"Sasuke!" The young woman said as she was dressed n her normal shirt and shorts while in the bed. 

A small man dressed in ninja garb appeared and bowed. 

"Yes Lady Kuno?" 

"I want you to find out all you can on the man known as Kouji Yamatsu, find out all you can and tell me." 

"At once my lady!" The small man left the mansion and went on to do what his mistress had asked. 

Kodachi Kuno smiled warmly and decided to arm herself with ALL the tools she needed to capture her elusive prince.

(Kouji Yamatsu...you will be mine!!!) 

Unknown to her...her brother, a certain wannabe samurai was fuming a bit. 

(That foul peasant Koujima dares to use his dark sorcery on my own flesh and blood?! I shall make you PAY Koujima...your foul sorcery and grip on the Goddess Lisa, and Shampoo will be broken by my righteous fury!!! Along with your new grip on my beloved sister!!!) 

--------------

To be continued...

--------------

Author's Notes:

Ah…nothing like a day in the beach isn't there? Well…after all the blood and fighting, it's nice to unwind after a very long day and to take a break and enjoy life's simple pleasures before we get back to the daily grind of life.

Oh yeah, just in case you didn't guess the swim-suits that were used by the women in the chapter, here's a list.

Ukyo- Aurora (One Piece) 

Shampoo- Nene (Bikini) 

Ly'sandra/Lisa- Bellatrix (Thong Bikini) 

Nodoka/Aya- Gentian (One Piece) 

Hinako- Nike (One Piece) 

Nabiki- Margerita (One Piece) 

Kasumi- Lepus (Bikini) 

Akane- Orthoclase (Bikini) 

Kodachi- Black Pearl (One Piece)

If these swim-suits sound familiar to you guys, then it should. The swim-suits belong to the girls from Dead Or Alive fame in the Dead Or Alive Extreme Beach Volleyball Games. I may not have played the game myself since I don't have an Xbox 360, but I've certainly seen the videos and they ARE hot!!!!

On the next chapter///we're still going to have a vacation…but things are going to be far from quiet as a new batch of characters are heading in to joint his little party!!!

See you soon!


	14. New Faces, Shopping, and Mayhem

Ranma / Knights of the Old Republic

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of Ranma or Knights of the Old Republic, so I don't get paid for this sort of thing.

Chapter 10B

New Faces, Shopping, and Mayhem

( ): Thoughts

--------------

The next day... 

Ranma sighed as he ate break-fast with his mother and decided to send out a covert transmission to the Republic to tell them of his current findings in his sector in the Unknown Regions. Considering all that he had learned and all that he had found out, his world would certainly need Republic aid soon, he then made it a point to mention the number of Force Sensitive people here and how dangerous it might be if the Sith came and began to take over the planet. He then made it a point to request aid from his Jedi mentors and some advice on what he needed to do with the numbers of Force Sensitive people he encountered. 

He encoded all that data when he went to his ship and used the communications systems to send the covert transmissions...he however made a point NOT to mention the numbers of weird happenings he had to deal with while he was here on his home-planet...no sense not making this too big an issue. He encoded the transmissions in his own personal settings and knew that only his adopted family could read them. 

-------------- 

Back in the Republic...namely to the Republic Intelligence Division on Coruscant...

Mission Onasi was busy checking the latest reports on current Sith Activity and terror cells in the Republic in her own office...the work was tiring as hell on the young adult Twi'lek, but she was doing something worthwhile and helping out in keeping the Galaxy safe. The adult was happy to know that her boyfriend was still beside her and was also part of the Republic Intel Division. And sure enough, she smiled as he played a bit with her lekku gently. He had managed to get the drop on her yet again...then again, since Dustil was Force Sensitive, that made common sense he could do that.

"Hey Dus...you know I'm still working right?" The Twi'lek said as she was hugged by her boyfriend.

"Sorry blue...you look so focused and cute I couldn't help it."

Dustil replied as he looked at his girl-friend. The first time he met Mission, he was a bit put off by her nature, but after hanging out with her after leaving Korriban and making peace with his father, and hanging out with the Ebon Hawk's old crew made him see the Twi'lek in the different light, and he liked it since Mission certainly didn't mind his company even if he was a Former Sith. 

"Haha...still have the Onasi charm eh?" 

That was when a report came in from one of their scouting and recon vessels.

"Major Mission, ma'am, we've just received an incoming transmission from Jedi Knight Ranma Saotome from the Outer Regions." 

Mission and Dustil nodded as they recalled being with Ranma and with them having a hand in his training, they were eager to see what he had to report...ever since heading back to his home-planet in the Unknown Regions. Dustil and Mission viewed him as a younger brother and they were keen to help whenever they could. 

After they had decoded it and read Ranma's report, they knew that this was a serious thing. 

"I better call my dad and tell him what happened." 

"Right...I'll contact Rev and Jesse, they need to know this too." 

Both went to work in their respective objectives, the situation they faced needed full attention and it naturally involved their fellow friends. 

-------------- 

Ranma sighed as he got back into the backyard and decided to read a book on Japanese history for a while and just chill...after that..disturbing encounter with the crazed woman on the beach no less than a day ago, along with the very interesting display of his female companions in their swimwear...he was in the mood to just relax and do some catching up on the history of his world. 

However, Kami-sama and fate had other ideas... 

He had barely read two pages of the first chapter when Nodoka called him while she was busy tending to the kitchen. 

"Ranma!" 

"Yes mom?" 

"I believe someone is at the door, you had better answer it, my hands are tied since I am still in the kitchen." 

Ranma nodded as he got up and put the book aside and went to see who was at their door. Once he opened it he found none other than Ukyo, Shampoo, and Ly'sandra at the door.

Ukyo was still in her normal attire and had with her spatulas as always. Shampoo was still decked in her normal Chinese garb of soft shoes, silk shirt and pants, all of which were red colored and had the usual flower decorations on them. Ly'sandra however had a tank-top and black pants with boots on her. They looked like they were all going out on an adventure.

"Hello Ran-Chan!"

Ukyo said warmly as he ushered them in. Ranma wondered just what was going on...today was a Sunday and there were no pressing activities for today...so what would bring the three women to his house...he was about to get the answer as he was chatting with them.

"You want to go to the mall today? And you want me to go with you all?"

Ranma asked, a bit wide-eyed at the thought.

"Yes, it's a load better to have some distractions than having books in front of you."

Lisa replied with a smile.

Nodoka came into the room and spoke a bit sternly. "I know that Ranma deserves a break for what he had to deal with not two days before, but please allow him to finish his studies first." She then placed some snacks on the table for the rest of them to eat.

Ranma thought about it and the mall would certainly be a good chance to live a normal teen's life, and being with the others was a good idea, but he seemed to suddenly have a penchant for getting involved with a lot of things recently and that was beginning to make things rather difficult, however, compared to the battles he had with the Sith for two years and his not too recent encounter with them he had dealt with harder foes, but he needed a break and though the beach was a good way to have fun, it had attracted way too much attention.

"Tell you what, I'll just finish two chapters of my History books and then we can go. Is that okay mom?" 

Nodoka learned much about her son's abilities and nodded. "Of course, but before you go, please buy some new supplies for the house while you are there, okay Ranma?" 

"Sure, just hand me the list and I'll go shopping." Ranma said as he took his school books to his room while the others chatted with Nodoka in the living room. 

-------------- 

Back at the Republic... 

Revan, his wife Bastila and their family were present along with their old crew were in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, discussing the latest data regarding their student and surrogate son Ranma. Naturally Jesse, his wife Brianna and their own crew were present as well...and the only one who was not there in the two crew's roster was Canderous who was busy welcoming new Mandalorian recruits and therefore didn't have the time to attend the meeting. 

Revan the others read the data sent to them by Dustil and Mission, both of whom were also present. The data was interesting and a bit disturbing for the Jedi since there had been more Force Sensitive people on Earth than they had thought and some of them had already developed rather powerful Force Techniques and abilities, though they were not as refined as Ranma's. 

When the data was complete, Revan looked at his wife, his fellow Jedi and that of Jesse, and his own band and spoke. 

"Ranma's certainly gotten us some very interesting information, that planet he was born in may not be as high tech as other worlds, but they have many people who do have very strong powers...and ties to the Force, that would mean that sooner or later, we need to do something about it." 

Bastila agreed and spoke.

"That is true, the description of those who are gifted with the potential to feel the Force on Earth is something to consider and we can't allow them to be exploited by the Sith. But we can't send the Republic there...it is too deeply wedged in the Unknown Regions and no ship has yet to map it, plus it would throw the planet's governments into anarchy if the Republic or Sith came there in force. Only Ranma knew of the coordinates and he has handed them to us...and since it is his home-planet there can be no doubt that he will not let that world be taken. However...he can't do it alone...he is one of our best students, but he had fought hard with the Bladeborn...who knows what the Sith might send after him this time."

The others agreed. Ranma's potential in the Force was strong, in par with all of them since they had trained him personally. He was also a hated thorn in the side of the Sith, he had led strike teams of Republic troopers, Jedi, and Mandalorians to considerable victories against their Empire's holdings ever since graduating as a Jedi...so much so that the Sith had placed a massive bounty on his head and many Sith Lords sought to either slay Ranma or convert him to the Dark Side.

Ranma too had some of the Dark Side in him, but his love for life and his devotion to the Light Side of the Force made him strong...but devotion alone might not always be enough... They had to help him.

"I agree...Earth and it's people were lucky that Ranma had jammed the Scout Ship's transmitters and destroyed the shuttle along with all evidence of their attempted landing. But the Sith will not give easily, they will send others and they may not be as subtle as a Scouting party this time...we'll have to send Ranma some back-up, Ly'sandra is there and she's a very dependable sort, but she can't be there forever and even if Ranma has the supplies he needs, he doesn't yet have the manpower to aid him in keeping a covert defense."

Jesse said, drawing upon his combat experience to the Mandalorian Wars.

Master Vandar and Atris, who had taken a hand in training the young Earthling agreed that it would be best for Ranma to have aid, but they also spoke that it would have to be a small but dependable and experienced band of Jedi...no doubt they would have to have worked with Ranma before in his time of leading strikes on the Sith.

After a few more hours of quick but very focused and fruitful discussion, the Jedi Council made the needed arrangements to send a small band of Jedi who knew Ranma and trusted the young Jedi well. Revan and Bastila already knew one who would be more than happy to be with Ranma.

The Former Sith Lord however then sent a call to Canderous, since Ranma was also a Son of Mandalore, it would pay for him to have some back-up from his adopted Clan.

-------------- 

Mandalore was in the Command Center and had just received the communiqué from Revan, and knew that Revan made the right move in informing him about the need for Ranma to have some back-up. In this case, back-up from his adopted Clan.

The leader of the Mandalorians knew that the Sith were notorious for using any and all means to conquer worlds and his long years of combat and experience with and against the Sith told him that it would be a seriously bloody affair, not to mention he respected Ranma. The boy had been an outsider and very much was the target of the other recruits who called him weak...but the sassy kid proved them wrong and now he was a sworn Son of Mandalore and one of the best students he himself had.

He knew that Kex, Zuka, Xarga, Kelborn, and Bralor knew that as well, them having taken a good deal of time to train the young man themselves in their own respective disciplines. He also recalled the many glorious battles Ranma had led his fellow clansmen and clanswomen into for the past two years and he already knew the right batch to help the young Jedi and Mandalorian out.

"Bralor, Kelborn...I want you both here in the command center." He said punching in the announcement via base inter-comms. He didn't have to wait long as the sounds of metal boots came into the chamber.

"Yes Mandalore?" Both former champions of the battle circle came in. Kelborn had been getting older and so was Bralor, but they were the toughest Mandalorians in the camp, second only to him.

"I want you to rally and equip a new strike team...a certain Son of Mandalore needs some reinforcements in the Unknown Regions."

-------------- 

In the Tendo Dojo... 

Soun was happy beyond words as he looked at the letter...at long last his twelve year wait had finally bore fruit! 

His friend and his friend's son were now arriving today!!! 

He had already sent the news to his three daughters about the Genma and Saotome Pledge to Unite Schools, made by him and Genma all those years ago when they were still training with Happosai...who up to now was still in his room, his broken finger fully mended, but he had not gone on any panty raids as of late. 

Kasumi merely asked if the young man in question was a gentleman and how old was he. Nabiki merely asked on what their father knew about Genma and his son. Akane on the other hand was steaming mad at the thought. It was bad enough she had yet to deal Kouji the punishment he richly deserved for being a pervert...but a BOY living under the same roof as her?! 

She instantly wheeled away and went into the dojo to train...trying to blow off some steam. 

In the vicinity of Nerima...when it began to rain suddenly... 

Three figures had just arrived...walking into the city in the rain, soaked to the skin. One was a panda...who acted way too human and carried a back-pack...while the other figure was accompanied by an exact mirror image of himself.

"Are you sure this is the place Father?" The twins asked the Panda. 

The Panda nodded and held up a sign which had the writing. "Yes, this is Nerima, stay close to me Ranma and we'll meet my old friend Soun. Then the Pledge to Unite the Schools shall be completed!" 

Both twins nodded. "Very well...for the sake of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, I'll pick one of the sisters...but how will they take the curse?" The twins asked as they pointed at each other to emphasis his/their point. 

"I am not sure...but it will be...advantageous!" 

The Panda was then pounded on the head by both twins. "I'm not into harems you perverted old panda!!!" 

-------------- 

Meanwhile...

Ranma (The real one) had finally finished his studies and now was with the rest of his friends to visit the mall, namely the largest one in Nerima. He had gained a list of food and other items his mother wanted him to purchase...namely fish, beef, pork, vegetables, condiments such as soy sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper, and the works, not to mention some new cooking implements. Along with that were shampoo, napkins, tissue paper...the normal stuff. Nodoka however approved of him to have some fun with his companions, but with them having conflicting ideas on where to hang out...he certainly had a hard time. 

"Come on Kou-chan! There's a nice shop for new ingredients I need for my okonomiyaki recopies, plus I know some people here who can help you with the shopping.." 

"No way...Shampoo know some good shops with decent Peking Duck...then Shampoo help Koujima in shopping!" 

"Stop that! Koujima, I heard there's a great steak house here, and they sell Kobe Steak, I heard a lot about it and want to try it out." 

The three girls then glared at one another making Koujima develop a sweat-drop on his head, while the rest of the mall visitors and shoppers were looking on, very much confused by the whole thing, but the men were drooling or leering when they saw the familiar faces of Shampoo and Lisa. 

-------------- 

In the Tendo Dojo... 

"THIS IS YOUR FRIEND?!"

Nabiki shouted as she gazed at the large panda and the twins who were at their door. The guy was nice looking, but way too serious for her liking.

"Oh my...Father certainly...has a unique friend doesn't he?" Kasumi said as she looked at Genma in panda form.

A few minutes later, Akane stormed in and merely glared at both Genma and 'Ranma' and his twin, still fuming as she and her sisters were ushered into their living room by their father who merely commented at Genma's change in wardrobe. 

(Go figure!) 

Later... 

Just as Genma was getting used to the Tendo Dojo, Soun whispered something to him that got the now restored panda martial artist in an uproar...albeit a quiet one considering what he had just learned. 

"What?! The Master is here Soun?!" 

"Yes..." The Tendo matriarch said sadly and pointed to Happosai's residence in the dojo. 

"But how Soun?! I thought we...I thought we sealed him away forever." 

"I thought so too...but he escaped. But I recommend we best not speak of things now. The master...he has been beaten." 

"What?! That is impossible! No one could beat him in martial arts, you and I know that!" 

Genma couldn't believe what he had just heard. Happosai was the oldest and most powerful martial artist the fat man knew, considering he trained under him for the past many years in his youth, along with Soun, even then, being younger than Happosai, neither he or Soun could come even close to laying a hand or finger on Happosai...so the idea of Happosai being beaten left him in both trepidation, shock, and a bit of relief. 

"I thought so too, my old friend, but my daughter Nabiki informed me that on one of his usual raids, the master was stopped by a student of Nabiki and Akane's school, I found it hard to believe, but this student had beaten up our master and despite our master's best efforts, the student toyed with him as if he was a mere child...he even broke...the master's sacred fingers on his sacred hand." 

"No..." 

"Yes, and the master has not left the room ever since." 

That was when the door to the room of the gnome in question opened and out came a newly restored Happosai, smoking his pipe. Both men trembled at the look and aura the old master revealed. The old man then looked at both men and exhaled some smoke. 

"Greetings Genma...I trust you're training of my heir is complete? And Soun...you know that I HAVE exceptional senses so no sense thinking I didn't hear your discussion." 

"Master! Please Forgive us!!!" Both men groveled before the old man who smoked still.

"I will, provided you can accomplish one thing for me Genma."

The bald martial artist nodded without pause and spoke. "What is it you wish Master?"

"I want you and your son, who I sense has great skill and power, to track down and humble the same man who has dared to make a mockery of my skills and interfered in my business. Do so and you will be forgiven by me for your part in sealing me away, and I will teach your son all of my skills so he shall be the true heir to the Art."

'Ranma' appeared and bowed.

"I will do ask you ask Master...for the honor of the School of Anything Goes...who is it you want me to fight?" 

"Koujima Yamatsu." 

"It shall be done." 

Akane appeared, dressed a normal looking pair of jeans and a shirt and merely glared at Ranma. 

"I'm going to the mall!!! Don't even bother to follow me!" 

"Have you tracked down Koujima Yamatsu, Sasuke?"

Kodachi asked the manservant of her family. Since last night she had developed some rather interesting ideas on what to do with her Prince that would have made an Anzati raise it's eye-brows a little bit, and that in itself saying something.

"Yes Mistress, however, Lord Kuno has left ahead and somehow located Koujima himself, he appears interested in facing the young man in a match of some sort and it appears that he is serious about defeating Koujima."

Kodachi's eyes flared..No wonder she had not seen her brother lately and why he seemed adamant that she stay at home.

"Harm my Prince...how dare my brother attempt such an act?!"

With that Kodachi took off in her black leotard and took her gear to intercept her brother before he could do serious bodily harm to her Prince! 

-------------- 

In the Republic...namely at the Jedi Temple... 

Jedi Master Revan and Weapon Master Jesse were busy checking the latest reports when they looked at the door leading to the chamber they had chosen to debrief the leader of the Jedi support group that was to be deployed to help Ranma in his current situation. The door opened and in came a human figure of medium height with the hood of the Jedi robe hiding the face of the recruited Jedi commander. 

"You wished to see me Masters Revan, Jesse?" 

The voice was soft, indicating that the person was female, as she sat down in the relaxed pose and so does Revan and Jesse. But before their discussion could take place...another Jedi comes into the room...also a female but didn't have her hood on and she spoke somewhat sadly and agitated at Revan. 

"Dad!!! Why aren't you including me in this mission?! I want to help Big Brother Ranma too!!"

Revan couldn't help but sigh in exasperation at his eldest daughter Claria Sunfire. The little child was still young and still new to the Force. But Revan could understand Claria's attachment to Ranma calling him big brother when she had been little and Ranma returned the affection, calling her baby sister though they were not blood related. The little child was dressed in normal clothes for children but unlike the other Padawans...she was hand trained by her parents personally.

She had the same features Bastila did, and had Revan's eyes, and had their talents in the Force too, namely her mother's Battle Meditation ability, but her age and lack of both training and field experience made her too liable to be part of the mission. Plus...Revan knew Bastila would have his hide if Claria was hurt.

"I know you do Claria...but you are not yet at the right age for this kind of mission, and you haven't even learned what he need from your other aunts and uncles."

"Oh bother! I can take of myself just fine!"

The girl pouted sadly, making Revan laugh as she pouted in some ways like Bastila did when she was not given her way on occasion.

"I know little one, but I can't let you go until your older yet...besides, you're mother and I will never be given a moment's peace if you go out there alone and always be in danger. If you were lost to us...both of us will never forgive ourselves and we'll always be in pain, you don't want us to go through that...do you dear?"

Claria sniffed a bit as since she loved her parents dearly and ran up to her father, just as Bastila also entered the room, due to her having a Force Bond with her husband and naturally to her daughter, the Jedi Knight knew of the conversation and as her daughter was held by her father she sat next to them and spoke.

"Besides...you know how Ranma would feel if you got hurt or lost, how do you think he would feel if his little 'cherry blossom' got hurt by bad people?"

Claria nodded as she recalled a time when some bad kids made her whimper by teasing her...and making fun of her and her parents, and in came Ranma who resolved the situation calmly before fists were launched, but one kid when too far and Ranma had knocked him out with a kick to the stomach. He then helped her up and took care of her until they got home to her parents. That was when Ranma was still fifteen and had one more year before graduation.

"I'm sorry."

"No it's all right dear." Bastila said as she held her daughter as Revan informed the Jedi leader of her objectives. The Jedi immediately focused when she learned that Ranma was involved in the mission.

"Knight Ranma was attacked by Bladeborn?! How is he...?"

The Jedi Knight asked with a disturbed tone and worry, no doubt from hearing the attack of the Sith warriors on Ranma. She then stopped her inquiry since she felt that she was getting a little too open about the student of the three Jedi Masters before her.

Revan noted that and so did Jesse and both smiled a bit secretly...both of them knew that she had some considerable history with the young Jedi Knight in question.

"He is fine Knight Shandra, but in light of recent events we have selected you along with a small band of your fellow Knights, whom you know have worked with Ranma to aid him. Since his home-planet is not part of the Republic, he will also serve as your guide in his world's customs and cultures, so you and your team can better blend in with the populace."

"I see..." 

Later...

As Jedi Knight Shandra left the chamber after receiving all the needed data regarding her mission objectives, she was suddenly called by a child...namely the daughter of Revan and Bastila. The Jedi smiled and waited for the young girl to reach her and when she did she kneeled down and looked at the child. 

"Hello Claria...is there something you wanted to ask me?"

"Yes...how long have you worked with my big brother?" The girl asked while cutely twiddling her fingers.

Shandra nodded a bit and smiled slightly, knowing how affectionate Claria was when the discussion involved Ranma Saotome.

"I've worked with...your big brother for nearly a year before he was assigned by Revan with his Mandalorian clan and the other Jedi...and that was the last I worked with him, though I knew him when he was training with your father before you were born. Why do you ask?" 

"Do you like him?"

Shandra went a bit silent and a few moments later spoke.

"Well...yes, I do like him...uh...as a leader and fellow Jedi Knight..." 

"I didn't mean like him that way...I mean REALLY like him." 

The Jedi Knight may have hidden half her face but she could not hide the slight flush of color on her face, naturally the young child saw that and smiled a bit. The Jedi Knight knew how gifted Revan's daughter was with the Force that it as hardly surprising that she would sense it as she spoke. 

"You DO like him then?" 

"Well...yes, but not that strongly right now..."

The Jedi Knight said while trying not show the blush she had on her face. 

"That's all right...please do me a favor when you get there...take good care of my big brother when you meet him, okay?"

The girl asked cheerfully as she walked to meet up with her parents, leaving the Jedi Knight still with her blush as she got up and went on to rally her team who had already been informed. 

"I will." Shandra said as she went on her way. 

--------------- 

At Dxun... 

Bralor and Kelborn were in the Battle Circle along with Mandalore as the selected band of Mandalorians were standing at attention, their leader was already in front of them, the Mandalorian however wore the golden armour of high ranking Mandalorians...and was a human female as well. 

"The squadron has been assembled Mandalore."

The female warrior said with crisp military authority said as she and her squadron awaited the briefing from Mandalore. 

Mandalore began highlighting the information concerning Ranma to the rest of the assembled squadron of Mandalorians, namely to their leader for this reinforcement mission. 

The assembled Mandalorians were also comprised of some of Ranma's former companions in his training days, including their leader who went by the name Valeena. 

The woman was Bralor's eldest daughter and was older than Ranma by at least three years and naturally had been one of Ranma's antagonists when she was younger, but over the years both she and Ranma developed a sense of respect and a bit of a friendly rivalry...namely since Ranma had his posterior handed to him by Valeena when he still had the belief women were weak, and she proved him wrong. Though after he wised up...she was bit more gentle with him, but was not shy in bashing him a bit to remind him not to take women, especially Mandalorian women lightly.

Her platinum blonde hair, deep blue eyes and well formed and featured face made her appear very attractive, despite the Mandalorian tattoo on her neck. That plus the fact that her form was slender and well proportioned, along with being well muscled, she was the strong version of the Mandalorian woman.

However, she wasn't the only female in the leadership ladder... 

Another Mandalorian in red armour had her helmet removed and she too was listening intently to the briefing. She was Freyna, Kelborn's second eldest daughter and was also older than Ranma by one year. Like Valeena, she had been one of Ranma's previous antagonists and they had engaged in sniping contests on several occasions, before Ranma left to take up his Jedi training, she too had developed a friendly rivalry with Ranma but had a more caring relationship since after he had won her respect, she tutored him on occasion alongside her father.

She had light blue-black hair and deep green eyes, a delicate looking face with all the right features, plus that and her well formed figure with all the right proportions were very much pleasing, but she too was tough, an expert in martial arts and weapons, like her father. 

Both fathers knew that their children cared well for Ranma and thus would have good reason to be part of the mission to aid their fellow Clan member. The two also glared a bit harder when they heard that Ranma had been attacked by Anzati Bladeborn...but they relaxed when they heard that he was recovering very nicely.

As soon as Mandalore finished, he then issued them their supplies list.

"Along with blaster packs, vibroweapons, pistols, repeaters, grenades and whatnot, we've also included a reserve of gold and gems to act as your funding source, however, do not flaunt the wealth, you all have to keep a low profile so as not to attract attention to your presence in the planet, and the over abundance of wealth will imbalance the planet's economy and that is one thing we need to avoid at this point. We've also included a small handful construction/combat droids to help out if you need to establish a base camp." 

"However remote this planet that your fellow Clan brother Ranma has come from, do not forget that according to the reports, the planet has too many tempting morsels for the Sith to just leave alone, thus, do expect an attack from the Sith soon once you have settled in, since Ranma is the resident there, he will be your guide so follow his orders and suggestions to blend in...Move out!"

The Mandalorian contingent led by Valeena and Freyna as they gathered what they needed to make the journey. 

--------------

The Jedi now boarded the small but spacious covert combat transport. The transport was similar to the _Ebon Hawk_, the same way Ranma's _Ghost Warrior_ was made from the same ship. All in all, there were eight Jedi in all, including their leader Knight Shandra. The group comprised of human and near human Jedi, this unique group had worked beside Ranma on certain missions and knew him well.

As the ship took off from the landing pan on Coruscant, the landing hanger on the base of the Mandalorians on Dxun was also strewn with activity as the unmarked cruiser was being powered up by the Mandalorian techs and engineers. Valeena and Freyna checked the sub-light engines and their hyperdrive generator...once all was set and prepped. The ten individual sized squadron of Mandalorians left Dxun and made their way to Ranma's location, the respective ships activating the cloaking devices to hide their signatures from the Sith.

As they traveled...each leader of the group wondered how Ranma was doing...

--------------

Boy if they only knew...

"COME BACK HERE YOU FOUL SORCEROR!!!"

Kuno shouted as he tried to swat Ranma/Koujima with a blow from his bokken which Ranma evaded with ease.

"Kuno...you realize that you're attacking me in a public place right?!"

Ranma/Koujima shouted as he tried to reason with the kendo crazed nut of a student.

"ALL THE BETTER YOU FOUL CUR!!! BETTER THEY WITNESS THE VICTORY OF MY RIGHTEOUS WRATH OVER YOUR FOUL SORCERY AND WITNESS MY GREATNESS, AND I WILL HAVE THE LOVE OF THE GODDESSES LISA AND SHAMPOO, WHO YOU HAVE ENSLAVED WITH YOUR FOUL ARTS!!!"

Kuno replied as he attacked once more.

Koujima was having a quiet time shopping with the girls after reaching a compromise with them to prevent them from fighting. He had spent time equally and then had been busy shopping some groceries. however he had just gotten out of the utilities shop when the poetry uttering jackass of a samurai came at him with bokken raised...since he was in a public place...no way could he reveal the Force here so he had to find a way to minimize injuries to bystanders and property, while making sure that none of his companions were hurt. However, considering what Kuno was doing to the surroundings...he wasn't that concerned at all...so…

SPLAT!!!! 

(Sithspit!!! This can't get worse, can it?!?!)

Koujima fumed as he slammed a mop handle HARD on Kuno's head, knocking down the kendo fighter and then for added incentive, grabbed a steel trash-can and stuffed Kuno...rear end first into it. 

He however barely ducked out of the way when he sensed several darts nearly hit him on the back. And when he looked, they looked like flower bracelets...filled in the inside with hypodermic needles... and judging from the smell, were filled with nerve agents... 

"Where did that come from?!" 

"From me my dear Prince!!!" 

(Oh no! By the Force...please tell me I just imagined that...)

"HOHOHOHOHO!!!!! I said I would find you my dear prince, I Kodachi Kuno, the Black Rose will always find what she seeks in the end!!!"

The teen gymnast with a serious sanity problem laughed manically making everyone cringe...even Ukyo, Shampoo, and Ly'sandra shivered at the manic sound of her laughter. 

(By the Force...you have GOT to be joking?!)

Koujima thought as he looked at the gymnast in her black leotard, on a 'normal' teen, the outfit would have been provocative, and considering Kodachi's looks and form, it was...unless you were into the kind of girl who's laughter could make a whole room of convicts cringe.

Koujima barely had enough time to think it over when he dodged several juggling pins thrown at him...the fact that the pins had needles filled with paralysis agents in them certainly made him cautious. The added fact that she was firing razor sharp ribbons and other nasty implements meant to main and stun was making him wonder if the girl was beyond borderline insane. 

(Whoa...this girl's worse than a Trandoshan merc on a jagannath point hunt!!!) 

The description fit the bill as Koujima dodged more and more attacks from Kodachi. The girl would have made even hardened Trandoshans wonder if she was an incarnation of their Goddess, who they called the 'Scorekeeper'. Koujima realized that the best chance he had was to take her out since several of her weapons had hit the windows of the mall's shops and some came close to harming other people. He however had no chance to use the Force since it would arise suspicion and that meant...getting close to the insane gymnast. 

As soon as he dodged her ribbon that was strong enough to slice a nearby court-yard palm tree he leaped at Kodachi, while dodging her other throwing weapons. He got a scratch but used the Force to dull the pain and counter the poison as he closed in and with one grab of Kodachi's extended arm, he struck at a nerve cluster at Kodachi's neck, making the girl lose consciousness, but not before she was nearly face to face with the Jedi and before she closed her eyes, the gymnast thought that he was going to kiss her (which thankfully was the least important thing on Koujima's mind). When she lost consciousness, Koujima landed with her in his arms and sighed as he looked at the property damage. In the instant, Ukyo, Shampoo, and Lisa arrived. 

"You all right Kou-chan?!"

The girls had watched the whole thing between Kouji and Kuno siblings and were thankful that Koujima had made it out of the mess without too much trouble. 

"Yeah...man I hope nothing else..." 

"DIE PERVERT!!!!"

Koujima turned and out came Akane armed with a certain blunt instrument of doom. 

"...happens."

(By the Corellian Hells?! What the heck is SHE doing here?!)

The girls were able to move away and Kouji managed to get Kodachi out of the way from the mallet as the weapon in question slammed on the floor. Kouji leaped back and took up a nearby plastic staff and went on the defensive.

"Why in the name of heaven are you attacking me this time Miss Tendo?!"

The young Tendo however seemed to not care at all in what she was doing, all she seemed to care was that she NOW had a chance to hurt the BOY who had made a mockery of her...ignoring the fact that it was SHE who started the mess in the first place by challenging him... and with her new weapon...he was going to be paste for now not only humiliating her AND being a pervert to the core, having seen him make 'moves' on Kuno's deranged sister Kodachi, but also for doing perverted things to her sisters!!!

"FOR MAKING MOVES ON MY SISTERS IN THE BEACH THE OTHER DAY!!! AND MAKING MOVES ON THAT CRAZY SISTER OF THAT IDIOT KUNO!!!" 

Koujima dodged the strike and leaped away and blocked the attacks...all the while...trying to reason with Akane.

"I did..."

WHACK!!!

"SHUT UP AND HOLD STILL!!!"

"not make any..."

CRASH!!!

"I SAID HOLD STILL!!!"

"...indecent moves on your sisters! They were my guests!!!"

CRUNCH!!!

"YEAH RIGHT!!! YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A PERVERT!!! THEY JUST WON'T BELIEVE ME!!! I SAW YOU GETTING ALL GOOEY FOR THAT CRAZY GYMNAST! IF THAT ISN'T THE MARK OF A PERVERT THEN I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS!!!"

Koujima had enough of this, it was time to stop the fight before more innocent people got hurt...plus his inner Darkness was beginning to swell up a bit. He then began attacking in unique offensive patterns and make Akane back away.

"Then you know..."

Akane's hands rang as he struck the mallet making it shake in her hands. She tried to recover but had to remain defensive as Koujima pressed the attack, the mallet may give extra damage power but speed and reaction time was too low and not to mention it made it hard for her to defend herself and her defensive moves without hammer were pitiful enough anyway...so her skills in using the mallet for defense was also just as dismal. And then... 

CRACK!!!! 

The sound of the mallet's head broken off from the handle was heard. Akane could only watch as Koujima was in front of her before she could even blink, his eyes emotionless like a black hole. 

"...absolutely nothing about me Miss Tendo...good bye and good night!" 

Akane was feeling some fear and she saw her vision blur, apparently she was unaware that Kounji had used a quick Echani strike on her nerve system from a throbbing sensation on the side of her shoulder/neck region. Akane fell to the floor stunned and unconscious.

Koujima sighed and hoped that this would be the last thing he had to deal with...

Boy was he wrong...

Out of nowhere a lasso made out of high tensile strength leather looped over him and tightened quickly...restricting his movements and making him loose his grip on the staff he was using. He then looked up and spotted the owner of the lasso.

The teen looked to be a military style fighter since he wore combat boots, military fatigues, a soldier's combat harness with the pouches and packs. He wore gloves and a black sweatshirt and had a headband. The guy looked very much at home in the wilds and urban areas, he had short black hair and brown eyes...and the aura he had showed that though he wasn't Force Sensitive he was strong.

The Jedi Knight didn't know who he was...but it seemed that the guy knew him. 

"So you must be Koujima Yamatsu? I don't like it when you hurt the daughter I might have to marry no matter how hot tempered she is."

The guy said coolly as he held Kouji still in the rope. 

"Who are you?" Kouji asked as he tried to loosen himself. 

"My name is Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts! My father and I will deal with you for the honor of the schools!" 

Koujima's blood froze at that announcement. He suddenly felt a presence he had not felt in twelve years...and the presence he wished never to see or meet ever again. He wanted no part of it nor the plans, broken promises, lies, and tricks that came with the person who's presence he sensed. Then he heard the voice he swore NEVER to listen to ever since he met Revan and Jesse. 

"Good work my son! Hold him here. Now Koujima Yamatsu...you will pay for disgracing the master and daring to harm my friend's youngest daughter...Prepare to feel the fury of the Saotome School of Anything Goes!!!" 

Koujima looked and sure enough he saw him...the clothes were the same, the fat stupid face, the same handkerchief bandana, the same greedy and lying aura, the same glasses, the same moves... 

_**GENMA**_

Koujima/Ranma's memories went back to all he had endured and all he suffered because of him...his father. And for a moment, his anger overwhelmed him. 

Genma and 'Ranma' expected this to be a simple fight now that they restrained Koujima Yamatsu. 

Boy were they wrong...

(I'll make you PAY for all my suffering GENMA!!!!) 

"Now let us see the so-called might of the Force!"

Genma taunted Koujima as he and Ranma got closer, he had asked his son to restrain their foe so both of them would be able to win this fight. He knew that their style would always win since he made it the best. 

Ranma thought of the same deal, he may not rely heavily on kicks and mostly with his fists, but he was taught well by his father and Ranma always wins in the end. It was a fact and he was about to prove it to his upstart. 

Unknown to them, Koujima/Ranma's Dark Side taint had made a slight grasp on the mind of the real Ranma and now they were fighting the warrior who fought with the Sith for two years and this time...he wasn't restraining his anger this time...and that was amplified by the Force. 

(You WANT to see the true MIGHT of the Force? Fine, first we get to the Physical might!)

Koujima then used the Force to leap up into the air, catching both Genma and 'Ranma' off guard as he flew into the air in such a way that defied even normal martial art skills. In the very same instant, Kouji used the Force to loosen the lasso that tied him by unlatching the rope that was tied to a nearby pole. Once he did so, he summoned the Force to break the rope holding him.

Genma leaped into the air and fired several punches and kicks, but much to his surprise, Koujima dodged them as if they were merely slow moving attacks and before he could even throw another punch, Koujima was beside him and then slammed a power kick right into his stomach. The blow felt like he had been hit by an iron bar! He doubled over as he was went slamming into the nearby display of sports equipment...namely those of weight lifters, the sheer speed of the impact had sent all the weights in the air and as Genma tried to open his eyes after slamming into the racks...he eeped as all the barbells and bars slammed into his head and body, some of the weights hitting him in certain...tender places. 

"Father! I'll make you pay for that!!!"

Ranma shouted as he attacked with several punches at Koujima and a few kicks to make Koujima back up, and he then fired another lasso at him, and he caught Koujima and then attacked with a follow up attack with a heart punch. 

"Fanged Fingers of Steel Welcome Gate!!!" 

Koujima however had surprise waiting and attacked. 

Ranma was suddenly caught off guard hen the wind suddenly picked him up and began to spin him around and around at increasing speed and then Kouji once more broke free and then attacked with a few moves of his own...plus a trick he had learned. 

"Try this then Ranma!" 

He then began punching at high speed, aided by the Force...the punches were moving at such a speed they resembled the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken, but this move was amplified by the Force so it's speed was a portion higher than the Amazon technique...what made this move even more PAINFUL was the fact that it was a combination of BOTH Echani and Mandalorian martial arts!!! The Echani's elegant but fast and precise blows to nerve endings…and coupled with the brutal but effective and straight forward style of attack by the Mandalorians. The end was result was a VERY painful style. 

Genma had been able to get out from the pile of weights in time to see his son being manhandled by Koujima...who he did NOT know was actually HIS son, but since he had not seen the real Ranma in twelve years, he hardly knew that Kouji was his son...he tried to come into the fight, but watched as Kouji slammed a powerful palm strike at Ranma, sending him streaking back and slamming into a nearby pile of bushes in the mall's courtyard. 

He attacked with a few more blows, hoping to use his own speed to get closer to Kouji and land a blow, but he walked into a trap when Koujima merely dodged his attempts. 

"Coward! Fight me!"

Genma said, trying to goad Koujima, but he suddenly felt a chill when Koujima grinned...almost sadistically and before he could do anything, Kouji slammed a powerful kick into his lower ribcage...the blow made him bend over like broken stick and it was a wonder his spine didn't break. 

"Fine...take this then!" 

Koujima slammed a palm strike into Genma's face and the fat martial artist was suddenly hit with such powerful force that his head was like that of a jack in the box when knocked, back, Kouji had used a small but potent amount of the Force into a Force Push that nearly sent the panda man flying and fly he did, right into a nearby stall that dealt in ant farms...and there were red ants in the farm he just broke. 

Genma screamed like a girl when the ants began to bite him...hard, but he barely had enough time to react as Kouji struck at him, moving at such a speed, the panda man didn't even know he was there until Kouji slammed a punch into his face, the punch was powerful and made Genma spit out a loose tooth, along with the blood and then Kouji slammed several more blows, punches and kicks by the dozen and the sounds of Genma's body in pain were heard.

Koujima then did the same thing with the Force and began to hit Genma in such a way that by all rights, like the blow before that would have broken more than Genma's nose, the next set of blows would have been enough to put a man in traction...

But Koujima was merely toying with both Genma and Ranma...he wanted to savor this moment...when he now finally go the chance to pay him back for all the pain, anguish, problems, and the memories this greedy and callous man had placed on him. No...he wasn't going to let Genma off the hook THIS early...he STILL had MORE to show him.

The last blow was enough to send Genma slamming into a nearby wet concrete section of the mall being fixed. The workers had left when the fighting began and they were lucky. 

Koujima then grabbed Genma by the collar of his gi and merely growled.

"Oh no old man...don't you expire on me yet! I still have to show you the TRUE Might of the Force!" 

With that he then tossed the old man aside, but just as he was about to pound Genma...Ranma appeared.

"Fierce Tiger Gate Open Blast!" 

This move managed to catch Koujima off-guard and knock him back, and Ranma began launching more punches...his own body a mess of bluish bruises.

"Touch my father...and you will regret it!"

This merely served to ignite Koujima's anger more and he showed that as he blocked another punch and with a powerful kick to the head, sent 'Ranma' aside and to prove his point he then used the Force…namely Force Grip.

"Back off Ranma...THIS fight with your...father...is MINE!!!!"

The Force technique wasn't very powerful but the suddenness of the move had results as Ranma's right arm was twisted the wrong way...resulting in dislocation in the shoulder...

"AUGH!!!"

Ranma shouted and held his dislocated arm in pain...leaving him unable to help his father. 

Koujima then focused his attention to Genma and then he used Force Push to send Genma slamming into a nearby stack of wooden boards..and then used Force Grip to physically lift Genma into the air and then switched the move to Force Choke...the same one used on him by the Masterblade Anzati, not two nights before.

Genma didn't know what was happening...but he was feeling his blood leave his brain and he tried desperately to see if the teen known as Koujima was using wire, but his need to breath placed that thought side s he clawed at his throat.

He suddenly fell to the floor and began to struggle to breath.

"This fight was started by you...Genma isn't it? Now then, let's finish this!!!"

Genma barely got to defend himself in time as Koujima began to lash out with Echani and Mandalorian martial arts moves, the old man held on, but his near loss of all oxygen made him dizzy as hell. That meant that he could not wholly defend himself as the young man rained in blow after vicious blow. 

Genma felt several ribs on his right side give way and break...the sounds an unwelcomed thing to the fat martial artist, but he could do little as Koujima slammed him about in the still being repaired wing of the mall. Koujima then grabbed Genma's leg as he kicked and then struck with one precise blow in the nerve cluster and then slammed a powerful palm strike on the middle of the shin bone, making it break, but not shatter...making the older man scream in pain. 

--------------

(How is it so far? You are now seeing how Ranma would have been had he been touched by the Dark Side of the Force…though this is only a tiny fraction of the results. Imagine what kind of Sith Ranma would have been if Revan and Jesse had not found him…or were of the Dark Side themselves?)

(Hang on as things are about to get even MORE hairy!)

-------------- 

Ukyo, Shampoo, and Ly'sandra were the only ones watching the whole battle and they were in fear, not entirely for Genma since in a way he deserved what was happening to him for all the lies and tricks he pulled on many people...But they were in fear that Ranma would slip into following the Dark Side and yet could do nothing but watch.

This meant that Koujima had nearly no restraints on him as he began hitting Genma with even more of his Mandalorian and Echani combat moves. The result was that whenever Genma punched or kicked, his body would be hit in a certain fashion the nerve receptors for pain would erupt like a volcano in signals, making the old man scream like never before.

And now Genma was about to be turned into a human pretzel and Koujima busted his body around like a toy and began to grapple and 'rearrange' Genma's limbs, using his medical knowledge and the Force to literally lock Genma's limbs in the MOST awkward and PAINFUL angles while the Force held Genma in place. Once that was over he released the Force bindings around Genma...then end result was all his limbs began to unwind...and due to their positioning, they either dislocated or broke. 

"AAAUUUUGGGHHHH!!!" 

Suddenly Koujima was stopped by a lasso...but before he could do anything...ANOTHER one caught him. He turned and spotted TWO Ranmas this time. The two then attacked. 

"DUAL DEMON GOD MULTIPLE STRIKE!!!"

Both twins shouted as they unleashed massive air currents that began to rip into the floors where Koujima stood. Kouji backed away, surprised somewhat that he was facing TWO enemies who looked alike...then he reached out with his Force Sense...and found the imprint of Jusenkyo. 

(So...he fell into one of the Cursed Springs. That won't be enough!) 

Koujima then attacked and took on both Ranmas, they worked in tandem and were able to push him back briefly. But as they were about to strike... 

"DUAL FIERCE TIGER GATE OPEN..."

Kouji then found out who was the real Ranma and targeted him with the Force move Malacia...this was a Force technique would induce nausea and dizziness to an enemy of Jedi and due to it not causing harm to the body was not a Dark Side power. The result was obvious as both twins felt the same effects and that was when Koujima struck.

He unleashed a powerful Force Scream at point blank range...the attack nearly deafened both twins and sent them crashing into an entire mess of wood and plaster. the injuries from the attack were evident as it seemed that although Ranma could still hear...blood was pouring from his ears.

Koujima then turned and spotted Genma trying to escape...but naturally Koujima wouldn't allow it!

"YOU ARE NOT LEAVING THIS FIGHT YET!!!" 

With that, Ranma/Koujima revealed one of his more restricted skills as he aimed a hand at Genma...and unleashed Force Lightning on Genma. Due to his not so high training in the Dark Side of the Force, his attack was weaker than that of the Sith who delved deeply into it...but it was more than enough to inflict burns and pain on Genma, who screamed as if he was like a Christmas tree set on fire.

"FATHER!!!"

Ranma shouted as he and his Jusenkyo curse created twin were about to attack, despite their pain. 

"VIOLENT DANCE..." 

Koujima shouted in rage as he aimed his other hand and fired another barrage of Force Lightning at both of the twins...catching them totally unaware and with the Force Kouji lifted both Genma and Ranma to be there side by side...

His eyes now beginning to take on a shade of yellow as a sadistic smile began to show on his face and his eyes became blood thirsty. His Dark Side was beginning to win on him as he listened to their screams as he turned off the attacks of Force Lighting and beat then to pulp with his martial arts and then resumed with Force Lightning barrages. Genma and Ranma were now looking as if they had been sent into a grinder at full throttle!

--------------

Through the streams of the Force...

The Jedi who all trained Ranma suddenly sensed the sudden shift in his alignment and his use of the Dark Side. Revan, Bastila, Juhani, Jolee, Jesse, Brianna, Mira, Atton, Visas, Bao-Dur, Atris, and Vandar. All of them had a feeling that Ranma would sooner or later encounter Genma, and they sensed that when he attacked with Force Lightning. They had to stop him and remind him that if he did this...he would become what he swore never to be...

A Sith... 

With that they all meditated and reached out through the Force and tried to calm Ranma's anger. 

--------------

Koujima was still on it when he suddenly felt the presence of his Jedi Masters in his mind...all of them softly but with great care and concern warned him of the path he was taking. They began to show him the images of what he had gained from the night he had been rescued by Revan and Jesse, and all the good things he had done for the Republic, the people on the worlds he helped to liberate who spoke of him in gratitude and kindness...and his more recent memories, his reunion with his mother, his saving of Shampoo and Cologne's village, his making peace with Ukyo. His pledge never to do evil to his mother... 

And they warned him that if he did this...everything he had done up to now…all that he had done to give hope and freedom back to the galaxy would have been for nothing. 

Koujima realized what was happening and with great effort turned away and stumbled back, stopping his punishing attacks on Genma and Ranma...both were brutally injured and broken...but very much alive despite the broken bones and burns and were unconscious. Koujima felt sick to his stomach at what he was doing and left to the other side to try and suppress his anger. He began to cry a bit as he realized how close he came to killing people who were not part of the Sith, and even if his father deserved punishment...He would never commit patricide and he saw how close he came to doing just that... 

"Kou-chan...please...are you all right?" 

"Koujima-san...please...Shampoo want to know if you all right?" 

"Come on Koujima, come back...don't give into your Dark Side."

Koujima didn't respond at first and when he looked at them he saw that they were relieved and he knew why, the blood haze that covered his vision before had faded and his anger subsided…and his eyes were back to their clear blue shade.

"I'm...sorry. I lost control this time." 

"No...you are back with us and that is all that matters."

He felt the same message coming from his masters and he nodded in thanks to them through the Force. He then walked over to both Genma and Ranma...and with a hard but yet relieved face he used his Force power to revitalize and heal them, keeping them alive for medical treatment.

He then spoke and knew that since his father was unconscious he wouldn't know who he was.

"I can't change the past...you used me as a tool for six years of my life. But I realized one thing...father... Had you not thrown me in that pit, I would have never awakened to the Force in me and then I would have never met Revan and Jesse. They were more the male parent role model than you could ever be. For that...I won't kill you...but I will not forget what you put me through for six years. Don't ever seek me out...ever again." 

With that he took his supplies and went to the mall manager and took out his credit card...to pay for all the damages since he had the funding needed for that anyway. 

--------------

Later... 

Koujima and the others went back to the house and that was when he saw his mother Nodoka sweeping the outer steps of the house. He knew that it was time to talk with his mother. 

When Nodoka heard of the encounter with Koujima and Genma she was angry, but was scared on how close her son had given into the Dark Side, but she smiled and cried with relief that her son beat back his demons with the help of his Jedi masters and his many accomplishments, and his promise to her. She gave a growl of anger at the fact that Genma had replaced their real son with this…new boy that she knew nothing of…as if Ranma was nothing but a replaceable asset…but for now she put those thoughts aside. 

"Thank Kami!" She said as she hugged her son. 

"I'm sorry...I won't let that happen ever again." Ranma said with conviction as he hugged his mother back. 

"I know you won't...but we have to talk...there are some guests you must meet at the back-yard." 

"Who mother?"

Ranma asked curiously and used his Force Sense and was surprised to pick up the auras of Jedi. he then followed his mother and they too were followed by Ukyo, Shampoo, and Ly'sandra. The two talked and she was relieved that nothing too dark had taken over her son's mind.

As soon as Ranma entered the courtyard, he spotted the Jedi group and easily recognized the silver haired and silver iris-eyed female Jedi Knight from the planet Rindao, she was a great Jedi Consular and musician, and one of his close friends. 

"Shandra?" 

"Hello Ranma." 

He then turned and was surprised to spot another band of people...his fellow Mandalorians, and the two female figures who were the leaders then took of their helmets...making him gape a bit. 

"Valeena, Freyna?" 

"Hello Ranma." Both said in greeting.

--------------

To be continued...

--------------

Author's notes:

Well, that was an interesting situation wasn't it? Ranma gets to unleash the Dark Side of the Force and despite his restraint, this shows just how cruel and brutal Ranma could be if he had been trained as a Sith…which is the reason why I didn't give him a Jusenkyo curse.

Like I said before…the Light Side and the Dark Side of the Force in him will be both his gift AND his curse as he will be tempted to use the Force for the wrong reasons and will be forced to make hard choices in the story…but for now…things are lighter for the moment.

But trust me when I say that the fire-works have only started and this was hardly the beginning…merely a slight taste of what is to come.

Is Genma going to give up on facing his true son?

Not bloody likely…

Will this new Ranma forget his defeat?

Not a chance…

Will the fiancées show up and cause Ranma more head-aches?

Oh definitely…

And what will the Sith send to Earth in the near future?

Ah…you'll have to wait and see now won't you?


	15. Renovations

Ranma / Knights of the Old Republic

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma or related media, characters, etc. Nor do I own Knights of the Old Republic and all related media, characters, etc. I just use them to make a story, that's all.

Chapter 10C

Renovations

( ): Thoughts

--------------

The next day…

Koujima sighed as he looked at the large construction droids that began making a medium sized complex on the grounds of his home, near it anyway. The droids were those hidden by the Mandalorians during the final push of the Republic Fleets under Revan's command and their forces were being pushed back. The droids were also capable in melee combat due to their design and hidden defense protocols.

Though they were considered standard construction units by the Republic and in the Known Galaxy, they were technologically more advanced than any of the construction systems on Earth by many centuries. Ranma was lucky that his home's grounds were in the country so he didn't have to worry too much about anybody just coming in...today was a holiday in Nerima and a lot of the people were at the beach and the parks...meaning no one would be here to disturb them.

Nodoka and Ranma had managed to call in the local construction company to send them construction supplies for a medium apartment complex. The reason was to build a place for the Jedi and the Mandalorians to stay and the place would resemble an apartment complex that was near the walls of the Yamatsu estate and could be considered part of the estate itself.

Beside the new complex and behind the grounds were the Jedi who were meditating peacefully while the Mandalorians were busy sharpening themselves in martial exercises of fist combat and sword fighting. Both scenes made Ranma recall well his days in both the Jedi Academy and the camp on Dxun.

Nodoka walked up to her son and spoke.

"Having a trip down memory lane son?"

"Yeah, it's been a while since I've seen other Jedi and Mandalorians." Ranma then smiled as he spotted Shandra and Ukyo chatting, while Shampoo was busy watching both Freyna and Valeena spar, looking at how the Mandalorian women fought.

Ly'sandra was busy in her own right at her own apartment. Thankfully the Zeltron was not all that surprised since she had an idea that sooner or later that after he sent the transmission, he would be gaining reinforcements.

Ranma knew a good number of the people here...pretty much all of them, he then decided to spar with Valeena and see if he still had what it took to face a foe who was Mandalorian. Valeena smiled and agreed as they got into the battle circle made by the other Mandalorians for their training and match. 

--------------

Ukyo was busy speaking to the leader of the Jedi contingent, the silver haired and eyed Shandra. 

"So you are Ranma's childhood friend?"

Ukyo nodded as she sipped some tea with the calm and focused Jedi Consular, though she seemed peaceful and very calm, Ukyo knew that she was a tough fighter, just like Ran-chan as she carried her lightsaber near her. Shandra noted her study of her weapon and she smiled. 

"I am knowledgeable with a lightsaber and the combat forms with it, but truth be told. I am a Consular, and my specialty is with the Force...your friend Ranma however...is more talented with the lightsaber than I am...being trained by both a Guardian and Weapon Master no less. I am also a musician...as with some of my people on Rindao." 

"I see...I knew Ran-chan...uh, I mean...Ranma when we were children, before he was taken by his Jedi teachers to learn. I...didn't like seeing him again, but now, I guess it has been a bit of a challenge being able to make up with him after all those years." Ukyo admitted as she sipped her tea and watched Ranma sparring. 

Shandra noted that and nodded.

"I know, Ranma spoke of that incident and was very unhappy with the whole thing. I am happy both of you have buried that part of the past behind you. By the way...how do you feel about him?"

Ukyo looked surprised and a flush of color on her cheeks appeared.

"What?! Well I am very happy to the fact he didn't become like his father...and well...he's certainly grown up from the last time I saw him. Why do you ask?"

"I can feel the aura of how you feel about him actually...not to mention you are Force Sensitive so it does make sense that one like me or Ranma can sense it. Though since you are his friend...he will not prod into your mind or emotions. Knight Bastila Sunfire was his teacher in some levels of mental shielding, along with Knight Jolee, and Knight Atton. A good deal of the Jedi Masters had a hand in training Ranma...and he is a very exceptional Jedi Knight."

Ukyo wondered if the praise coming from the silver haired and eyed woman had more than just her admiration of Ranma's training. She sighed and wondered what she should do in order to have some time alone with her Ran-chan. She thought it over and then came up with a workable idea since it was time for her to try some new okonomiyaki forms.

As she watched the whole match, she wondered how things were doing with the rest of the people in Furinkan. 

-------------- 

"Sasuke!!!"

The bumbling ninja appeared in front of Kodachi who was in her normal dress and was looking at a large picture she had managed to 'acquire' from the internet of none other than Kouji in his track and field gear. Apparently Nabiki had used her tech savvy to create a private server for the hottest guys in the schools in Nerima and it became apparent that Kouji was in the top threes...more in the number one spot.

"Yes?"

"I want you to locate Kouji Yamatsu and merely watch him, report to me all you can soon." 

"Yes!"

"Oh my Charming Prince...had I not closed my eyes I would have...maybe some other time...when you and I are alone." 

Kodachi laughed once more and gave a wet kiss on the picture...imagining her kissing Kouji and doing... other things to him. 

-------------- 

A shudder suddenly shook up Koujima's spine and make him unable to block the incoming blow from Valeena's quarterstaff...clonking him in the head.

"OW!!!"

Valeena gave a surprised and stern look along with a glare and angry phrase. 

"Ranma! Why in the Dune Seas of Tatooine did you drop your guard?! I thought my father taught you better than that!" 

Ranma shook his head a bit as he got back into combat position and responded with both words and a strike from his staff. "Sorry...for a minute there I could have sworn someone was thinking about doing something to me while saying my name."

--------------

Elsewhere...in the Tendo Dojo...

Soun was busy reading the newspaper and when he was done...he went to check on his two new guests. Both of whom were still resting but considering what had happened, they were VERY lucky...

Genma had suffered multiple burns, broken bones, lacerations, and some dislocations that by normal standards, he was lucky to be still breathing! That is if one could digest the fact he had slings for both his arms and casts as well on his ribs, thighs and lower legs, along with a cast, half his face had bandages and there were other bandages on his body to cover the burns he suffered. The doctors said that he was not to leave the care of other for two months.

Ranma was luckier, despite having more intense injuries. His right arm was also in both a cast and a sling. He too had been wrapped in bandages and had some casts on certain parts of his body. The doctors said that due to him being younger and stronger, he would be back on his feet in a month and half as long as he would not try fighting for a while. 

Both men were being tended to by Kasumi while Nabiki was busy with school work...and Akane was busy at the dojo, trying to get more training on dealing with another chance to beat up Koujima Yamatsu. Never mind the fact that Koujima had just beaten her yet again and had unleashed a far more demonic side to himself…though she was unable to see it. 

For Soun, it was a bit discouraging to learn that not only did Koujima Yamatsu beat the master Happosai, who was still furious over Genma and Ranma's failure, but both Genma and Ranma were beaten severely as well. He wondered how they were handling their situation with such a lose to a complete stranger. 

Genma was enraged at how easily that teen was able to manhandle him and his son. He wanted to shout to the heavens and to Kami-sama why they could not beat such a guy with their deadly skills. That was when Genma decided to recover first and train Ranma in some...forbidden techniques, the next time his son and Koujima would meet...

(I will make Ranma invincible...and we will see how good you really are Koujima!) 

Ranma was in the same mind set as he hated being this helpless. he swore that he would train to finally surpass Kouji and show him the true power of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts! 

(I will regain my pride and my honor...and you will PAY for all you have done Koujima...I swear it!) 

-------------- 

Back at the Kuno residence... 

The wannabe samurai was busy taking a LONG shower...apparently the trash can Kouji had stuffed him in was recently filled with the refuse of some of the restaurants in the mall and the results was that the samurai stank up to high heaven and the fact that the place of his body where deepest and darkest part of his was the one that got stuffed in there...certainly made the mad kendo practitioner fume like hell. 

"YOU WILL PAY FOR THE SACRLIGE TO MY GLORIOUS PERSON KOUJIMA!! I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER YOU FOUL CUR!!!" 

--------------

As Ranma finished his sparring, the construction droids were half way done with the work when the Mandalorians decided to unload the rest of their gear. This was Ukyo's chance as she walked up to Ranma and spoke to him. 

"Ran-chan..I was hoping you and I could go to my shop and I can treat you to some of the new recipes I want to try...that is...if you are free today?"

Ukyo asked as she was still a bit uneasy since she was looking at her Ran-chan in a more mature way...she began to feel this way ever since being around him again, it was different from the past friendship and it made her both aware of her feminine side and a bit frightened on how to deal with it, having kept that hidden for the past twelve years.

Shampoo was about to come in but her cell phone rang. She had gained some idea on how to use a cell phone recently and knew how to use it, the fact that it used Chinese words made that all the more simple for the young teen. She sighed a bit n disappointment an realized that her Great-Grandmother wanted her over to help in the orders...and they had to train in her people's martial arts to keep in step.

As she put back her cell phone she called Ranma.

"Great Grandmother ask Shampoo to go back to cafe...see you soon Ranma!"

Ranma smiled and waved Shampoo goodbye as the girl got on her bicycle and went off to her work. This was now to Ukyo's advantage as she began to mentally plan her outing with her Ran-chan. 

Later... 

Koujima accompanied Ukyo to her restaurant and since it was early, the shop didn't have any customers, so that meant that Kouji and Ukyo had the place to themselves. Ukyo went to the kitchen and began to whip up her latest food items in the menu...while Kouji marveled at the shop.

(Wow...Ucchan must have really worked hard to make this place this successful.)

True enough, the shop was articulately clean and well ordered, he had been here before but that was when the shop was filled to the brim. But he then noted that Ukyo was both owner, waitress and staff. It made him realize just how much Ukyo struggled to make ends meet growing up after his idiot father took her family's only source of income. 

Shrugging away those bad memories Kouji decided to tidy the place up a bit so as to make it less of a burden for his Ucchan to start her day. Since it was a holiday, business usually picked up well on days such as this one, and since Ukyo was the only one, it would be hard as hell for her to work almost the whole time. The only consensus was on school days, and she had the right to schedule her time. But on holidays...she would be very busy, and would have less time for herself, and that made Kouji sad that she never got the chance to be the normal girl she was, since it was partially his fault to begin with.

Ukyo was nearly finished when she saw her Ran-chan cleaning up her place. She wanted to tell him to stop and let her do it, but the diligent and calm way he did the work stopped her. Like any normal person, Ukyo wished she had help in the shop, but even with her earnings it was still not enough for her to hire others, considering the price of upkeep, buying supplies and the bills. She knew asking for financial aid would be a good thing, namely with Ran-chan's finances, but she had earned her own money for the past twelve years and she didn't love that idea all that much. But to watch her childhood friend helping her made her feel happy and she liked watching him.

The smell of the okonomiyaki reminded her quickly of her duties and she was happy to finish the food early. 

"Ran-chan...time to eat." 

Koujima/Ranma finished his clean up a bit early and went to eat and smiled as the smell was very much mouth-watering. As the two began to eat, Ranma and Ukyo managed to finally have the time to chat without anyone else getting into the conversation. Ranma told her about his adventures and naturally omitted any parts of the battles he had been in since he didn't plan on letting this privacy be ruined. Ukyo also told him about her life after the yattai cart and what she went through over the years...until reaching the situation they were involved in when they met again. 

Ranma wished that nothing would be disrupting this moment as he finally got the chance to help out and learn more about how life had been for Ukyo. 

-------------- 

Well...he'd better enjoy it...cause the Sith had yet to give up on their search...

In a hidden enclave in the Unknown Regions... 

A young human male dressed black robes and armour was deep in meditation...and seemed to be searching desperately for something...several minutes later, he got up and gave a sigh of disappointment. 

"Having troubles...apprentice?" 

The young man turned and faced his Master...A man with a deep red mark on the front of his face...his deep black hair in dreadlocks and his grey face...added with his near dead eyes added to a very dark picture, along with his dark black robes streaked in red and deep gold Sith characters. 

"Yes Master...that...disturbance in the Force...was strong...very strong. I tried to locate it but failed." 

"That you did...however...you will still have that chance...come, I have a mission for you." 

The apprentice got up and took up his utility belt and walked with his master. In the compound were other students and soldiers, all training in the use of the Force. Many of the students were human, near humans or aliens. The male and female students bickered with one another while reading data-pads and others were being taken to medical...apparently after having taken real combat training on the enclave's testing grounds...this was a place seeped deeply in the Dark Side... 

A Sith Academy... 

"What is that Mission Master? Whatever it may be I am ready." 

"Eager and fiery as always eh? That will be good for now. I want you to go and spy on the Republic...I want you to be my eyes and ears there while the rest of the Council are busy gathering more whelps to fuel the war with the Jedi." 

The young man growled.

"Jedi! Nothing but weak wretches who squander their power and the Force!! When can we slay them all Master?! I am getting tired of hiding here in this enclave while they have free reign to rebuild!!!" 

"Soon...we still have to clean up that mess due to the interference of the Jedi Order's youngest student." 

"It's a shame he is NOT a Sith isn't it...considering who trained him."

The man gave a snort of disgust. 

"True...many in the Council wish to turn him to our favor, what better way to wound the traitor and his family than to have the one they adopted and trained be the one to strike them all down. But for now we can do little...but wait. You however will not. We have received reports of more of the Hssiss getting...hungry as of late. I want you to take a few of the sedated ones and locate a good place for them to breed. Let them have their fill while we recover and you gain more data on the state of the Republic."

The man nodded. "As you wish Master Khalus." 

As the young apprentice left to do his Master's bidding, the Sith Lord looked on out to the barren and near lifeless planet that the Academy was based on. he thought on the rest of the Sith Empire and his...present fellows in the Empire. The Kiffu Sith Lord ran his hands on his lightsaber and smiled as he recalled how many Republic and Jedi he had killed with this weapon. But enough about memories...he had other matters deal with as he went to the Council to discuss their findings and their plans. 

-------------- 

Back on Earth... 

Koujima took on to helping Ukyo with her restaurant as soon as she opened, saying before that her latest creations were well worth the effort. And his words were proven true as many of the customers were busy munching away. The people were surprised to see Koujima helping out Ukyo...but they didn't mind, certainly not the female customers as Koujima would take their orders to them since Ukyo was busy in the kitchen making new and more delicious okonomiyaki. 

Ukyo certainly loved having help in the restaurant and at the rate things were going, the business would be healthy today since it was a holiday. 

Much Later... 

Ukyo closed down her shop after almost six to seven hours or operation, due to her reaching afternoon time and closing time since she was very tired from all the work she had been doing, but business had really picked up and now most of the people were off to celebrate. She was happy that the down time meant that she could take time off too. She had managed to convince Koujima to meet her at the park for them to celebrate too. 

Koujima agreed and went back to his house to change, that meant she had to chance too, and it was time to show her feminine side...though how after nearly twelve years of hiding it was a mystery. 

-------------- 

Later... 

Koujima was waiting on the outer steps of his home for Ukyo when he spotted a young woman who looked slightly familiar to him. She was wearing a sky blue sundress with the straps showing her shoulders well and her long brown hair was well combed, that it caught the setting rays of the sun well. That was when he recognized the attractive girl as Ukyo...making him blush as they walked together to have their own free time in the festival. 

Ukyo and Koujima had fun ridding on the boats in the park, eating ice cream, playing with the games on the stands and merely watched the fire-works that came afterwards. Just a pair of regular teens having fun... 

Later, Koujima escorted Ukyo back to her shop/house and bid her farewell as he too went home. He then checked his chronometer/calendar once he got home...and smiled as he looked at it. 

Two days from now...it was a new anniversary to attend plus a chance to take a vacation with his family and friends. 

--------------

To be Continued...

--------------

Author's Notes:

Ah…nothing like a relaxing day after all that now is there?

We'll be getting to the introductions of the Jedi and Mandalorians who are working with Ranma/Koujima soon, but we'll be going back to the Republic for a bit of a vacation. But this time Ranma is not going alone!


	16. Celebrations, Reunions, Hidden Dangers

Ranma / Knights of the Old Republic

Disclaimer: I have not ownership of Ranma and Knights of the Old Republic, they are the respective property of their creators and as you might have figured out…I am not the creator of either…but I am the creator of this story.

Chapter 11

Celebrations, Reunions, and Hidden Dangers

( ): Thoughts

--------------

Koujima was busy in the track and field playing soccer with the rest of his class-mates. He had been made team captain as part of the plan since his athletic skills were far greater than the others. Though some of the players resented his skills, his ability to lead was unquestionable and the others respected him.

As Koujima played in the practice game, another part of him was planning another set of plans... 

The first was to set up a covert defense network with the reinforcements he had gained both from the Jedi Order and his Mandalorian clan. Knowing that it would still take years for both factions to regain fighting strength meant that he would have to make due with the current reinforcements that he gained. That meant that he had to use all their latent skills to the best levels. 

Valeena was just as well trained in the martial ways as her father Bralor, and her mother Terna, who Bralor had married a year after the Battle for Telos was just as tough as her husband, though she was mostly busy working as a pilot for the supply drops the Clans needed. This meant that Valeena would certainly work well as a spy. Plus her looks made her a foreigner, and a bit less likely to grab attention...if she didn't attract any at first, so she would have to enroll in another school in Nerima...but where? 

The same could be said for Freyna, she was a talented scout like her father Kelborn and thus would work well as a free lance photographer. Her mother Yunra was just as talented as a scout, though she was an outsider in the past when Kelborn married her. Unlike most outsider women, she was very familiar with the ways of the Mandalorians and adapted to her husband's lifestyle.

Shandra was a great Jedi Consular and as a talented musician, as most of her artistic people were known to be. But where she could be stationed was a question that had to be answered soon since it would be a bad idea to make her a professional since her age would be a bit of a problem since despite her being older than him, she looked rather younger than she normally is. That would mean she would have to be in a school that he knew best. 

The rest of his comrades of both Mandalorian and Jedi were all human and near human to better blend in with the population of Nerima, each bringing a unique set of skills and wisdom to the table, it was up to Kouji on how to best utilize them. But for now he would have to maintain the cover of being a normal student...the same could be said for his team-mates. 

He now however had to plan for the next two days since he also had another commitment to his family...his other family. It was high time he paid them a much needed visit and maybe keep his promise to his mother and the others so they can see the galaxy for themselves. 

Koujima passed several defenders on the other players and passed it to his other team mates...and then... 

KICK!!! 

The players watched as the one with the ball passed it to Koujima and he kicked it right in the net. 

As the players were getting ready to rest and relax after the training session...many of the female students commented on the game...namely on Koujima. The giggles and wild stories kept on...much to the displeasure of a certain short tempered girl. 

"Damn! Why is it hard for them all to see that the guy's nothing but a pervert?!" Akane fumed as she also was warming up for a volleyball game. 

Nabiki however wasn't listening as she took covert pictures of Koujima in his shorts, soccer shoes, and sweat-shirt...more yen notes for her to get with these pictures...not to mention he was nice to chat with though she still had a mystery on her hands concerning him. 

"Oh chill Akane, he's not doing anything untoward the girls here. unlike Kuno-baby...or are you still sore he beat you even with the mallet?"

Nabiki said teasingly.

Akane fumed even more as she recalled how easily Kouji had beaten her...and that BOY who was her fiancé and his father. No way was she ever getting engaged to any pervert like him. Besides...he got his butt handed down to him by Kouji, showing that she will be the only one to beat him!!! 

Then... 

"Hi Koujima!"

The others turned to see Lisa sashay her way to Kouji, and in her altered school-girl outfit made the men drool as she sat daintily next to Kouji who was blushing like hell as the redhead sat next to him and offered him some food, making the girls fume a bit and the guys grumble...and added more fuel to the fire to Akane...who naturally didn't recall how PAINFULLY Lisa had incapacitated Kuno the first time she fought him. 

"That is IT! I have had it with that hussy!!!" 

Nabiki watched in shock as Akane stomped off to apparently attack Lisa...she hoped Akane wouldn't do it, but the way she walked spoke volumes of her intentions. Nabiki sighed and wondered if Akane was going to be bruised to tomorrow after her fight with Lisa. 

(Lump time for Hurricane Akane as she picks a fight with Ly'sandra! Anyone care to watch?) 

-------------- 

In space... 

Sith Lord Khalus' apprentice looked at the suspension cages filled with preservation/nutrient liquid that housed the sedated Hssiss as they were being shipped in his personal cruiser, the _Shadow Heart_ as he was ready to locate the best place to unleash the beasts. The beasts would serve well in giving the Republic and the disgusting Jedi a headache as he did his work unhindered by the Jedi's Investigation Forces, and the Republic's Intel Division. Though in reality he would love nothing more but to break and kill a Jedi, he had his orders...he had been a good apprentice and had to gain more power when he too would strike down his Master. 

But Master Khalus was deadly and now wasn't the best time so he would have to wait until the time was right, a hint of weakness was all the apprentice needed. It was the way of the Sith...and he LOVED it more than anything. He cradled his own handcrafted lightsaber and waited for the chance to come to him... 

But for now...it was time to have the Hssiss fed. 

-------------- 

Back in Furinkan... 

"Hey you!!" 

Lisa turned and smirked as she spotted Akane looking at her with fury. The Zeltron, being a fighter, studied the girl and snorted mentally at her level of combat skills, which were too low level for her. But she answered Akane anyway... 

"Yes?" 

"How can you be around such a pervert like that guy?!" The hot tempered girl said, pointing at Koujima. 

Koujima was getting tired of this and wondered if he would have to step into this mess. But the way Lisa spoke told the Jedi that she could handle this well on her own, but he was worried...not for Lisa...but for Akane.

"I like him and he's a good gentleman. Plus he's quite the hunk..." Lisa said with a very suggestive smile.

The groans of jealousy coming from the girls and the looks of the same emotion from the guys made Akane even more steamed. She might not show it but she loved being the most popular and talked about girl in the whole school and was the best martial artist in Nerima. But with Kouji nearby, that wasn't happening and the others near him, Ukyo, Shampoo, and the redhead Lisa were taking all that away and THAT had pissed off Akane...that plus the beating she got twice from Koujima added insult to injury. 

That plus Lisa's air of strength and class irritated her to no end.

"YOU hang out with him and you play all the other perverts here like that! You have no sense of dignity and self respect at all!!! You're nothing but a cheap fun loving and crazy redhead foreigner!!!" 

That got Lisa's attention as she glared a bit at the arrogant attitude of Akane. She however still smirked and showed that she was not impressed with Akane's attempts to goad her. 

"Really now? Are you done saying that you are jealous and you are inadequate as a woman?" 

"WHAT?!" 

"I mean that you don't know a single thing about being a woman, so you are jealous that I can do this to them and you can't? You act like you are the best in Nerima as a fighter...but your skills are so low, that Kouji only used the most basic of moves to take you down. Plus...Girls are supposed to ATTRACT Boys...or didn't you learn the facts of life?" 

Lisa asked with a warm grin...making many guys blush...plus making Akane furious as hell. 

"WHY YOU..." 

"Temper, temper...you said you were a martial artist, and so am I, but you are the worst at it, along with being the WORST example of a woman. I mean look at you, you come here and look for a fight from me when I don't have a reason to even start one with you...and you make a scene now just to cover up your own insecurities about being a woman. Look at you...you are jealous, cause if you weren't you wouldn't be acting the way you are now and you certainly would be more secure with your feminine side...but instead you treat boys like they are the plague." 

"I AM NOT JEALOUS!!!!" 

"Really now? So if that is true, then why are you always acting like you are? Your sisters are more the women than you could ever be. I met them in the beach not two days ago." Lisa said with a smile as she looked at Nabiki who was surprised a bit at being involved. 

"You're middle sister Nabiki for example...she has brains, wits, and well...quite the figure to boot. There's no doubt in my mind that she can be a REAL career woman than you could ever be, she can find the best high paying jobs and be well paid for them, she could very well be the next billionaire in Japan and a woman to boot. Plus with her attributes, she certainly has a better chance with guys than you could…considering what I saw at the time on the beach." 

Nabiki couldn't help but feel proud of that. 

Lisa then grinned. 

"And let's not forget your other sister Kasumi. She is very kind hearted, strong willed, and certainly a good example of a woman due to her hard work, kindness, and show of being comfortable, though a bit naive of her own feminine attributes, and she certainly is a model wife due to being comfortable in her nature as a woman. I actually envy the guy who will one day have her as a wife."

"You are NEITHER of them and it is a shame that you come here and accuse me of having no self respect as a woman. I love my feminine traits and unlike you I revel in them. Plus...I do know more about the facts of life than you ever could. I know how much...FUN it is for girls to BE with boys, and I like Kouji cause he's a real fine man, and I love nothing more than to be with him and to be around him. I like him since he's a real gentleman...you are so uncertain about your own worth as a woman that although you LOVE the attention guys give you, you don't let them get close to you, and when they do...you beat them up! Such a shame...you will be a nothing more than a frigid old MAID by the time you reach adulthood...if you DO reach adulthood that is."

"You're like a spoiled brat who is so insecure with herself that you go against nature and try to be different...but all you are doing is making a total...oh I don't know...oh yes, a jack-ass out of yourself!"

That got Akane real angry since Lisa was striking home on the board. She lashed out with a punch, but Lisa merely caught her by the wrist and she grinned warmly at Akane.

"You want to prove me wrong...don't you? You want to prove to yourself that I am lying...don't you?" 

"Yes! I'm going to..." 

Lisa's smile disappeared a bit and she growled.

"Then prove me wrong here and now you little schutta. You want to fight me? Then name the time and place." 

Akane nodded. "Basketball court in the gym today...no weapons." 

Lisa nodded. "Deal, see you there." 

Koujima sighed. He KNEW that a fight with Akane and Lisa was going to happen. Despite the situation he was actually looking forward to this. 

-------------- 

Later...

Akane was in her normal gi and was now ready for a fight. This will be easy! Lisa relied on weapons to beat her foes, but she was the best fighter in Nerima and didn't rely on weapons to beat her foes up. She glared as Lisa arrived in an ensemble of red shirt and black leather jeans and shoes that got the men drooling and smiling. The little slut was enjoying this! Well, that was going to change!!

Nabiki sighed and placed her hands on the bridge of her nose. She had tried earlier to reason with her sister but that was doomed to failure as Akane said that this fight was about her honor and pride as a fighter. Nabiki didn't buy it since most of what Lisa said was the truth and Akane would never accept it, plus the fact that she had started a scene all by herself. The middle sister knew that after this Akane would once more be at the clinic. Normally money would be earned...but she did have scruples after all and though she wanted a few lessons to be drilled into Akane's skull, she wasn't looking forward to watching a family member get beaten up.

Lisa smiled as she faced Akane an went into a neutral combat position and beckoned to Akane. 

"Well are you going to just gawk all day?"

"You won't be so cocky once I get my hands on you and rearrange your face!!! Let's see how those perverts will love you, including Kouji once I make you look like something the dogs won't even look at!!!" 

Lisa's eyes flashed! That schutta was SO going to regret that! 

"Bring it on little girl..." 

Akane then charged...not knowing she was making another BIG mistake! 

-------------- 

Koujima sighed and looked at the fight...this was going to be brief but VERY painful...for Akane. 

Akane had every intention to finish this fight with merely one blow, to prove that she was the best in all of Nerima! And when she was done she could finally smash up Kouji, naturally forgetting the VERY effective demonstrations of both Kouji and Lisa when they were on the scene for the first time. Well...she was going to get it. 

Ly'sandra was trying not to snort in disgust, she said she knew how to fight, but her speed as so pathetic!!! And she was literally telling the Zeltron all her so-called best moves as if she was handing her a chart on her attacks! Time for and education then... 

Akane cocked back a fist and was intent on smashing Lisa's face in. But before she could even move her fist forward...Lisa rushed up and slammed a light punch into her stomach, stopping the short tempered girl who had all the air forced out of her lungs due to the blow that she got. The girl then had her fist grabbed and before she could do anything, she was caught in a quick restraining grab and kissed the floor of the basketball court...which thankfully had been covered with padding before they fought. But that certainly didn't stop Lisa as she then released Akane and before the girl could do anything, she got a swift kick on the chest and that send her back to her knees in pain. 

Lisa smirked... 

"You're on your knees already? Come on...what happened to your spirit little girl?" 

Akane go up and tried a punch and kick combination, but Lisa was hardly impressed as to her, Akane was moving TOO slowly for her taste and the Zeltron made her pay for it... 

She blocked the punch and struck a nerve cluster on the arm, sending a powerful signal of pain to the nerve system of the girl making Akane shout in pain and shock, and Lisa caught the kick from underneath and literally flipped Akane like a pancake and she hit the practice mat with a thud. Now...normal people would have given up and admit that their opponent was stronger than they were... 

But Akane was NOT one of those people... 

As she got up, Lisa struck her with a light palm strike to the nose and then was enough to make her bleed, and before she could even mount a defense, Lisa struck her side with a kick that made her nearly rocket to the other side. Lisa then struck with a powerful punch to the gut that made Akane bend over and nearly hurl her lunch. But then got a fast kick to the side of her head and in that moment she was knocked back to the ground, and while she was bleeding a bit faster now and sweating like hell...Lisa wasn't even panting.

The disguised Zeltron was not impressed at all...the Sith warriors, their troops, mercs and other evil comrades were far more powerful than this brat. But she did have a sense of honor and found no pleasure in beating up a person as low leveled as Akane. 

"Give up? Cause I am getting tired of playing with a..." 

"Never!!" 

Akane them made the worst mistake ever...when she struck and managed to LIGHTLY rake Lisa with her fingers. The blow was barely even worth mentioning but the short tempered girl was dumb enough to gloat and try to strike once more, when Lisa was merely trying to end the fight peacefully. 

Akane's next attack was grabbed by Lisa who's look of disinterest now changed to a look that would have even melted transpirasteel. 

Koujima sighed...this was about to get ugly... 

"I'll make you pay for that." Lisa merely said as she quickly got Akane to her feet. 

-------------- 

Later...

"Did you HAVE to do that Lisa? THAT was going a little overboard wasn't it?" Koujima asked as he was getting ready to leave school, along with Ukyo and Shampoo. It had been at least several hours after the fight and the Jedi had some things to discuss with his mother and the others, which was why he wanted to finish his schooling.

The disguised Zeltron gave a shrug of her shoulders as she walked with Koujima and the others.

"Actually, no, you know the moves like I do and mine weren't that powerful...besides she DID say she knew how to fight, so she should be able to handle the bruises."

Koujima sighed...Akane had been caught in what was known as an Echani Firedance...a style of combat used by Echani with Firebrand double blades, the style was lethal and was almost like a dance of intense grace beauty and skill, a combination of ballet with intense Latin style moves in Earth terms...the result was a fighting style of the Echani that would be both beautiful and deadly...and Akane had just been subjected to the version that had no weapons involved. This style was rarely taught outside of the Echani people, but there were some who used it, namely Ly'sandra who had been a student of one aging Echani fighter in her training days...she wasn't a full user since only the Echani could use the style to it's highest level. 

The moves were like dancing as Lisa had struck in all the specified body zones of Akane with smooth but precise kicks and punches. She had been hit on the head, neck, shoulders, arms, torso, thighs and legs. The end result was that Akane had bruises all over her body and she looked like a human bunch of grapes as she had black and blue on different sectors of her body from the powerful and swift blows that Ly'sandra had inflicted on her. She was lucky that she fell out-cold from a kick to the head from Ly'sandra. 

Koujima sighed and took it upon himself to at least heal SOME of the injuries and take the unconscious girl to the nurse for medical treatment. The girl had thankfully no BROKEN bones, but he was sure as any person can be that she would be fuming mad when she woke up. The rest of the class made sure to remain on Lisa's good side after watching her decimate Akane with barely little to no effort. Speaking of Akane…

-------------- 

In the clinic of Furinkan... 

Akane was conscious now and was fuming mad as she was in great pain. She couldn't believe that she lost in just twelve seconds!!! She naturally went on to deny that she had been defeated...as usual... 

(NO!!! I WASN'T READY!!! THAT WAS NOTHING BUT A FLUKE!!!) 

Nabiki saw the look Akane had and sighed, there was little she could do for her sister since she was badly bruised and beaten and had to be helped by Koujima into the medical ward. She informed the others NOT to breath a word about the young man who carried her sister and make her assume that she had been carried by her two friends. The fact she lost once to Kouji was bad enough, and to lose to Lisa was even worse, along with the coming out about her dislike for her own feminine side, to know that Kouji had held her would have driven Akane crazy. 

She however was impressed in the way Lisa fought in hand to hand combat...like her sister Akane she assumed that Lisa fought only with weapons. But her skills showed that she could dish out pain unarmed too. The fight was like a dance... 

Akane tried to lash out with more punches, but Lisa slapped them aside and then launched several punches and nerve strikes all over her shoulders, arms, chest and stomach and when Akane tried to say that the blows were weak her body began to flare up in pain and bruises began to appear due to Lisa's attacks, she SHOULD have backed off and admit that she could not beat the English redhead, but her pride, and attitude overwhelmed whatever good sense she had and she attacked with several kicks...which Lisa avoided with the grace of a dancer. And she then lashed out with fast precise kicks and punches...taking down Akane and leaving a mass of purple bruises on her. 

Lisa then replied to Akane before she lost. 

"Try to train harder little girl, an old dog has faster reflexes than you." 

Nabiki sighed once more as Akane was being checked by the doctor. 

--------------

Later… 

As soon as he arrived at his home, he went to meet his mother and he found her reading a medical text book and drinking her favorite cup of Japanese tea. He decided to let her finish as he got to his room and switched to his normal clothes. As soon as he was done he walked up to his mother and she greeted him warmly as she saw him. 

"Hi son, how was school?"

Ranma nodded and told her of the day's events. The new apartment had been completed and Nodoka had done the needed paper work to authorize the new property. Ranma's Mandalorian friends and his fellow Jedi began to settle in on Earth though teaching them the ways of Earth...namely the lunacy in Nerima was going to be one hell of an uphill battle. For now however, he decided to inform his mother about what he wanted to do when he got to celebrate back at the Republic. 

"It's going to be Restoration Day on Telos mother, you mind if we go to the planet and celebrate it?"

"Restoration Day? Telos? Is that one of the worlds you went to when you were training with Revan and Jesse?"

Ranma nodded as he began to explain the history of the planet. Telos was one of the first worlds to be hit by Revan's Sith Fleet. The planet refused to be intimidated by the Sith Armada and sought a more peaceful solution. Malak, in defiance to Revan's orders to take Telos intact ordered Admiral Saul Karath to prove his loyalty to the Sith by wasting Telos...which the former Republic Admiral and Hero did without hesitation. The planet was devastated and ruined and many lost their lives...namely Morgana, Carth Onasi's wife and this led to Dustil disappearing and joining the Sith Academy on Korriban. After the defeat of the Sith, Telos was restored by the Ithorians and protected from another Sith attack by Jesse. The planet had been restored when Ranma was already in his early teens and he loved the planet's new beauty the way he loved Alderaan. After the complete restoration of the planet, a yearly celebration was held to celebrate the rebirth of Telos. Ranma attended the celebrations for the past few years he had grown up in the Republic and apart from Alderaan and Dantooine, he loved walking on the restored green and golden fields of Telos. He hoped that today, he could ask his mother and close friends if they would mind joining him to celebrate Restoration Day on Telos.

Nodoka wondered about this, she would then have to come up with an appropriate excuse for her son to take a leave of absence, plus it would raise SOME questions as to why Ranma would go on vacation all of a sudden during the semester. But Nodoka wasn't going to mind this chance at all. 

In truth she had been looking forward to the chance to visit the Galactic Republic for over twelve years now, after seeing Ranma fly off with Revan and Jesse. When Ranma returned, he showed her holo-vids of his days growing up on various planets and the people, beings, animals, and friends he met in his younger days growing up as both Mandalorian and Jedi. Not to mention he HAD been in some festivals that really appealed to Nodoka, not to mention she could finally meet the people who trained her son into the living version of manliness in front of her. She wanted to personally thank Revan and Jesse for all they had done for her son...and now was a good a time as any. 

Nodoka smiled a bit. "All right then, allow me to visit the school and make the arrangements with your teachers. But you will have to discuss this with the rest of your friends."

"I know. I have to inform Revan and the others to expect us too. I'll see you later, I'll have to discuss matter with Valeena, Freyna, and Knight Shandra." 

-------------- 

Back at Dantooine... 

Revan smiled as he looked at the incoming message from Carth, and from Ranma. The Jedi Master was busy reading the message as his wife and their daughter were busy having a happy time and Bastila was busy training her daughter on the methods of protecting herself through the Force. Revan then smirked as he read the last entry of Ranma's message.

"Bas, I think we are going to have some good company in the Restoration Day celebration on Telos." 

"Oh?"

Bastila asked as she looked at her husband while their daughter played with her toys. Claria levitated the blocks and with glee in her voice and a smile on her beautiful face. She then put them down and walked over to her mama and papa. 

"Is that a holo-message from big brother?" The young girl asked hopefully. 

"That it is little one. Ranma's coming here to the Republic for a short week vacation. And his friends and mother are coming with him." 

"Really? Ranma's mother is coming here?"

Bastila was interested in finally meeting Ranma's blood mother. She had wondered what had possessed the woman to marry such a slob like Genma. But she was happy to see that Ranma had been given the chance to be with her again and the result was now better. She sensed his mother's handiwork in trying to teach him manners. She wanted to meet Nodoka since in his early years, Ranma would ask when he could see his mother again, until he warmed up to both her and Brianna. 

"Yes. He managed to finally convince his family, minus you know who to visit the Republic. That means we'll need to inform everyone else that we have some guests." 

Bastila nodded in agreement as she set about contacting the rest of the old crew about Ranma's return to the Republic.

------------- 

Dxun... 

Normally Mandalore didn't waste too much time with frivolities or details, he was a warrior and leader, but like any normal person he DID take time to have a vacation, at least to bleed out some boredom, and heading out to mingle with the old gang was worth it. That was why he was going to Telos tomorrow to celebrate another year after it's restoration, he didn't mind the company, though he snuffed out regulations and still wore his armour in the celebrations.

(Hmm...so, Ranma's real mother is coming eh? Well, I've been meaning to meet her in a while. I have to congratulate her for having a fine young man as her son.) 

Telos...

Carth was normally busy but since it was a celebration tomorrow, the other Admirals let him off the hook to relax and enjoy it. Naturally he did and yet the one thing he didn't always like was the fact that despite being near to his fifties, he still managed to get his share of gawks. Not his fault that he was still very much in great physical shape over the years. He also got the message of Ranma's mother and friends coming to Telos. Hearing about Nodoka was a good discussion between him and Ranma when the boy was his student.

(Well...at least this place will be more crowded.)

Coruscant... 

"Master Mical?" 

"Yes?" 

The young aide bowed before a tall blond haired Jedi Consular who wore the customary robes of his rank. The young Jedi Knight had been taken into the Council under Master Vandar due to his affinity with Force Healing. He had become one of the best scientists, historians, and medics of the Jedi Order and worked constantly to help alleviate the old issue of mistrust people had for the Jedi Order. After the Sith attack and the final destruction of Malachor 5, Mical had been tapped into training as a Jedi, the training he had missed ten years ago when many Jedi left to fight in the Mandalorian Wars. He wished to be trained by Jesse, since he saw that Jesse was a born leader, but didn't get the chance, that is until he came back from Unknown Space with Revan...and Ranma. Due to him being older than Ranma by at least twenty years he became a bit of an older sibling and fried to the young Jedi, both had also worked on several missions, which was why he was looking forward to seeing Ranma again. He was also friends with Carth and the admiral did invite him for a vacation. 

He smiled warmly at the data-pad and then raised an eye-brow. His mother was coming along to Telos? He wondered who Ranma's mother was, since having worked with Ranma on few occasions, he wanted to meet her and congratulate her for having Ranma as a son.

As the rest of the crew got ready for the celebration of Telos' Restoration Day, the rest of the Republic was still busy on other fronts. 

-------------- 

The next day...

Ranma was in the cockpit of his ship, the _Ghost Warrior_ was already fueled and more than prepared to leave for hyperspace. Ly'sandra had made sure to speak to him about the details of forming the home guard of both his Mandalorian and Jedi support. He left behind instructions to both Valeena and Freyna to get oriented with his world's culture, the same with Knight Shandra. They and the rest of the groups they were in respective command of had to learn how to adapt to his world and learn the customs. He had nothing against aliens, but he knew that having them in the group was asking for WAY too much trouble. The groups of both Jedi and Mandalorians were human and near human, so they had a better chance at the covert ops bit. All of them were willing to help him out and keep a lid on the situation.

Ranma however had one worry. How would they fit into Nerima with all the wackiness in it? He hoped that when he got back from his vacation his new home-town won't go down the side of lunacy the way ships went down over the Maw Cluster...he had seen the cluster of Black holes and shuddered at the idea of trying the Kessel Run.

Besides that, he hoped that the diverse groups would try to get along with not just each other, but his home-town as well. The last thing he wanted to go back to from his vacation was a real mess to clean up.

His mother admired the ship's systems while in the same cockpit with him. She admired the ship and was impressed to know that her son owned this technological wonder of a vessel. Nodoka had finished making the arrangements with Ranma's school to allow him a week off...along with Ukyo, and Shampoo. She had taken enough clothing and supplies for the trip and as ready to see the Republic, even for a brief week with her son and his friends.

The two people mentioned were also accompanied by Cologne, who also wanted to see the galaxy. As a little girl in her own youth, the Amazon Elder wondered if there was life beyond the stars, and meeting Ranma, and seeing the records convinced her that it was possible...and now despite no longer being a child, the elder felt giddy at the prospect of seeing other races. Ukyo was also in the same boat as she looked at the various parts of the ship was awed at the ship Ranma owned and flew for two years. She was also interested in meeting the people who trained her Ran-chan and helped be strong, and after all, like most people...seeing new things would be very interesting. Shampoo was likewise in the same boat as she was in awe of the ship...sure she had been in it before...but never in such a situation as leaving Earth.

All four were nervous, but were happy to finally take a break and see the rest of the universe.

As the ship remained on cloak mode and lifted off. Ranma wondered if things will be sane when he got back as his comrades from both the Mandalorians and the Jedi went to work with the covert defense network with Ly'sandra's help. 

--------------

Half a day later... 

"Wow...so Manaan is an entire planet covered in water?" Ukyo asked as she and the others listened to Ranma who explained some of the worlds using his maps and the holo-encyclopedia he had with him. 

"Yep, the only city there is Ahto City, the only city where us land walkers can mingle with the Selkath. They are a very strict people, bound by the desire to remain independent, even during the Jedi Civil War, they didn't side with either the Republic or the Sith, but worked hard to distribute their planet's ace in export...which was kolto." 

"Kolto?" 

The others were also just as curious. Ranma had been teaching them several things about the Republic and the worlds that made it, he also went to explain certain customs to the races they might encounter. He also went to teach them how to speak Galactic Basic which was easy and quick to use. He also spoke of other worlds, and their people. The women were impressed at how much Ranma had grown, being well mannered, knowledgeable, skills, and talented and seeing him take to the Republic as a second home made them a bit envious of his skills. 

They would be arriving in Citadel Station in a few more hours to meet up with the others. Even with the completion of the Restoration Project, the Station was converted into a network of ship-yards, cantinas, meeting places, and more. The Telosians didn't like to waste good equipment so the station stayed where it was and it helped become the jump point to other planets in the Republic. 

Ranma wondered how the rest of the old crews were doing as his ship was on auto-pilot. He was hoping that he wasn't late, since he was dressed in his favored Jedi Knight Robes, Nodoka was dressed in her normal kimono, and had her sword with her, while Ukyo, Shampoo and Cologne were dressed in their normal clothes and had their normal gear, but he knew for the two teens, they would have to wear something that didn't attract too much attention, namely from the unsavory types. 

-------------- 

Canderous smiled as he piloted his personal shuttle and spotted the glint of Citadel Station's metallic surface. The Mandalorian leader left Kelborn and Bralor to deal with the camp, plus help maintain a watchful eye for Sith activity. 

In his helm, he hoped that Revan still had the stocks of Tarisian ale he kept a secret. Davik may have been a seriously wrong choice for an employer in the Mandalorian's mind, but at least he was a very competent man when it came to hiding drink...now all they had to do was avoid Bastila finding out about it. He liked teasing Revan's wife, but knew better when it came to pushing her buttons too much. 

--------------

Mical nodded as the government transport he was in was now going to dock with Citadel Station, The transport was carrying many government employees, with their families who were there to visit Telos and take a break from the daily grind in the government posts they were assigned in. The Jedi Consular and healer was very much in his normal robes, along with a vibro-sword, blaster...naturally his lightsabers stored away, his work was more of warrior-healer-diplomat than mediator and since he was naturally tired at times from his work, he took vacations too. Ranma always insisted he get out more anyway. 

-------------- 

Carth was finally able to get out of the office and get into his normal clothes. He was going to meet up with Ranma and his group and greet them to Telos. Since he lived in Telos, he was to be the host for Ranma and his family and friends. As Carth checked the chronometer, he got on his jacket and smiled as he got wind that the shuttle _Mandalore's Wrath_ had just arrived, he was naturally contacted by Telos Security Force Commander Grenn, now a decorated officer in his team's part in defending Citadel Station from the Sith Force that attacked in twenty two years ago. That was when he got another message. 

"By the way, Admiral Onasi." 

"Yes Commander Grenn?" 

"We've just got wind that another ship has arrived... the _Ghost Warrior_, it appears your student has arrived...we've directed then to Docking bay 3." 

"Good...I'll be on my way." 

In Docking Bay 3... 

"Wow..."

Ukyo and the others said as they gazed at Citadel Station, in it's full glory in the safety of the Docking Bay's particle fields. Ranma and Nodoka were also admiring the view as he had not been here in a while. The Telosians had now taken back their home and during Ranma's training...many Telosian refugees made their way back to their home planet to rebuild their lives after the war. The green, and golden fields of Telos, along with the oceans, and the polar icecaps, made the world pristine and beautiful. So it was hardly surprising that his companions were in awe of the place. 

They then turned when the door to the hanger opened and in walked Carth Onasi. Ranma smiled and walked over to one of his trusted mentors, and his commanding officer in the Republic Military arm. 

"Admiral Onasi."

Ranma said with a smile and saluted Carth, much to the surprise of his mother, Shampoo, Ukyo, and Cologne. 

"Knock it off Ranma, you know that on holidays I don't carry the Admiral rank."

Carth smirked back as he shook hands with his student. It was hard to believe that he was now like his former mentor Saul Karath and trained Ranma alongside the others. It had been a bit hard for Ranma to trust him since he was a figure of authority, but it worked out a good deal and Ranma was among the few Jedi Carth could understand, since unlike most Jedi, Ranma was always telling the truth when it mattered and didn't use too much Jedi jargon, as Carth put it. Naturally Revan and Bastila didn't mind that. 

The two then impulsively hugged one another and laughed. 

"It's good to see you again Ranma, how's life back on your world?" 

"It's been...interesting. By the way...my mother is here."

Ranma nodded to Nodoka who walked over to both him and Carth with a smile. Ranma then stepped aside and spoke to Carth. 

"Carth Onasi, this is my mother, Nodoka Saotome. Mom, this is my commanding officer in the Republic, Carth Onasi."

Ranma then allowed both persons to meet one another as Nodoka bowed. 

"Good day Mister Onasi...I have heard a good deal about you from my son, since you have been one of his mentors and close friends. It is an honor to finally meet one of the people who have done so much for my son." 

Carth was familiar with some of the Japanese people's customs having lived with Ranma and learning some things from the young man and he too bowed politely in greeting Nodoka. 

"It is also a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Miss Saotome." 

He was also surprised to finally meet Nodoka, the reasons were all different, there were features that Ranma had gained from his mother due to some similarities in their features, plus Ranma wore his hair in some ways similar to his mother. The differences apart from gender was also their height, Carth was six feet tall, and Ranma was nearly the same in height while his mother was noticeable shorter, though not by much. It marveled Carth that this petite and very attractive woman was Ranma's mother, but there was no denying that they were related. 

The older man then shook his head when he began looking at Nodoka more intently than he should. There was no denying that she was attractive and demure, but she carried a weapon in a cloth piece that he recognized from the shape was a sword. But something about her was very attractive, and Carth was a man after all... 

The Admiral then reigned in his thoughts before he did something totally against his nature. 

(Easy Onasi...that's the mother of your subordinate, student, and friend here. Ranma's certainly not going to like it if you start hitting on his mother of all things!)

Nodoka also was admiring Carth Onasi, since it was obvious that Carth was a fine specimen of a man, despite being older than her. Despite taking the position of Admiral, Carth Onasi still preferred to be in the front lines with those he commanded instead of being stuck behind a desk, thus when he wasn't busy...'pushing papers', taking with the higher ups, and attending social functions. The Telosian male trained with his fellow soldiers in the gym and the firing range, Carth was a proficient martial arts expert and still a master marksman with his two signature blasters. Even with him wearing the same jacket, boots, and pants that he wore in his travels with Revan, Carth still had the same strong and well formed build that he had in his days as a soldier.

His face may have gained a few lines, but the same features were there, like before he didn't shave too much on occasion so the stubble was still there, along with the annoying strands of his hair that managed to get loose. Nodoka liked the brown shade of Carth's eyes and his face was certainly appealing, she could see why Ranma used to joke about how many times Carth rolled his eyes when women fawned over him, not to mention both he and Dustil would take a few bets on when Carth would turn on the legendary male Onasi charm.

Nodoka realized that she was still staring at him with what appeared to be fascination, and more...she quickly smiled while trying not to blush. She was still a young woman so it hardly surprised her that she felt this way staring at him since he seemed to have some mystery about him. 

(Nodoka! Shame on you...you are a guest in his world so try not to do that...even if he is handsome, and slightly scruffy-looking… and mysterious...)

Ranma couldn't help but try to restrain his laughter and interest. This was the first time he had ever seen Carth act flustered and the same thing with his mother. He was not sure if a feeling would blossom, but he was certainly keen on finding out. 

They had another guest... 

"Well Republic...I see you've come to greet our old student eh?" 

All the people in the Hanger turned and in walked none other than Canderous Ordo, his helm of Mandalore in his hand and his face revealed. 

The now revealed Mandalorian leader placed away his heavy repeater rifle and walked over to Ranma and the two greeted each other in Mandalorian fashion and spoke in Mando'a. 

"It is good to see you again Ranma, you have been well?" 

"I have Mandalore. It is good to see you still alive and well, Valeena and Freyna told me about the camp, are my friends well?" 

"They are fine, and they hope that even for a short time, you can visit them on Dxun, they have dying to see how you have grown for the past months you have gone home." 

Canderous then turned and spotted Nodoka Saotome, and it didn't take long for the Mandalorian to see that due to the similarities in appearance, she must be Ranma's mother. Canderous looked questioningly at Ranma who nodded. 

"Yes Mandalore...she is my mother." 

Ranma then turned to his mother Nodoka and smiled.

"Mom, I'd like you to meet my leader of my clan here in the Republic and also my commander in the Mandalorians, my Clan leader Mandalore." 

Nodoka could see an intense amount of fierceness, aggression, experience and gruffness in the man who had a bearded face, in contrast to Carth's own face, the man looked older than her, but carried himself with skill, combat prowess, strength of both body and will, intellect, honor, and something...fearless. Most women would be intimidated by such an aura, but Nodoka was intrigued since she saw some handiwork from the dangerous looking man on her son. 

"Greetings Miss Saotome, I am Mandalore, leader of the Mandalorians. I am happy to finally meet the mother of one of my clan's finest students and members. You have a fine boy as your son, and it was a pleasure to train him." 

Canderous extended his gloved hand to Nodoka, the woman took it and her hand was somewhat overshadowed by Canderous' massive hand. She however looked Canderous right in the eye and showed proper respect to such a deadly individual. 

"It is an honor to meet you Mandalore, I am also pleased to meet you since my son spoke of you with the highest regard due to you and your clan raising him. I am happy that my son is worthy of such praise." 

Canderous had to admit...for a soft looking female...she was very well mannered, and had her own fierce will since despite his strength she didn't seem all that frightened, unlike some non-Mandalorian women who recoiled in fear of him before becoming Mandalore. Plus it had been a while since he had been looked at straight in the eye by any woman, with the exceptions of Bastila, Juhani, and the Twi'lek Mission. They were friends of his in most respects, along with the fact that Revan was Bastila's husband, and if anyone, Sith or otherwise would lay a hand on them, he would personally kill them. Nodoka Saotome was more than she seemed... 

And he liked that in a woman. 

Ranma couldn't help but wonder if what he was seeing was real as Canderous released his mother's hand. But he shook his thoughts aside as Ukyo, Shampoo, and Cologne arrived from seeing the surface of Telos. 

"By the way Carth, Mandalore, this is my childhood friend Ukyo Kounji, this is Shampoo my Amazon friend from the country of China, and her Great-grandmother, Elder Cologne." 

The two younger teens then bowed in greeting to both men, both men then couldn't help but smirk at Ranma for managing to get the attention of two attractive girls from his world. He hadn't lost the charm that had also attracted a lot of eyes on him, back here in the Known Galaxy anyway. They too greeted the two teens and also the elder woman, though they wondered how such a short woman could move around on her cane. She was human version of Jedi Master Vandar Tokare, and since from her movements, both men, having taken martial training knew that she was more than capable in defending herself. 

Cologne also studied both Carth Onasi and Canderous Ordo. Ranma had spoken a good deal about both the Republic Admiral and the leader of the Mandalorians, and in her observation...both men were worthy of such praise. Both carried themselves as professional soldiers and warriors. Carth and Mandalore radiated the auras of battle-hardened men who had seen all aspects of war and were more than capable as warriors. Plus though they were different, Carth being a more toned down but formidable fighter, and Canderous being a gruff and deadly warrior, both men were attractive in a certain point of view...the Elder had an accurate idea on how both men would be received back on Earth, namely in their village. 

Carth then decided to call the attention to the others. 

"Well, since introductions are already done, I suggest we get to our quarters while the others arrive. I had the TSF prepare some temporary quarters for you and your family and friends Ranma, so until Revan the others come back here, you are my guests." 

"Is Commander Grenn still in charge of the TSF?" 

"Yes. Well...we'd best get moving." 

Ranma nodded as he and the others left the docking bay to relax off to the residential complex which served as a temporary haven to new visitors to Telos. 

--------------

Later…

The living quarters were simple but very comfortable as Ranma and his family and friends settled it. There were some lockers nearby so as to allow them to store their goods and supplies, as they had some break-fast of nerf steaks, hot caf, Alderaan stew, Para-rolls , and blue milk. Ranma then told them of what Restoration Day was like. He then excused himself and called Commander Grenn and asked if he could assign some of his TSF personnel to escort his friends around Citadel Station for a while, since he had to meet up with Admiral Onasi. Grenn agreed and sent some of his troops as escorts.

Due to the return of many Telosian refugees, the numbers of the TSF had grown to the point that they no longer relied on off-system groups for their security needs and their own forces had been able to finally replenish itself so they could handle whatever threat they could deal with without Republic aid.

Nodoka smiled at the large numbers of people and aliens she saw, to think her son was able to see all this for twelve years of his life in the Republic...Ukyo, Shampoo, and Cologne were also impressed by what they themselves saw as there were different humans walking by, some near humans, humanoids, and aliens. They also saw some more...interesting sights as the people were preparing for the Restoration Festival, colors were everywhere, different dresses and suits in myriads of designs were seen by them and it was amazing to note as the people looked very happy.

It was hard to believe that this world had been subjected to intense bombing and destruction nearly seventeen years before. It was also hard to imagine the golden fields and green plains that they saw coming in was once arid, radiated, and toxic lands when the Sith invaded and bombed it into submission.

So engrossed was Nodoka in her observations that she accidentally bumped into another person, one who was carrying a bag and looked somewhat official.

"Oh my!"

"Oh...sorry!"

The TSF escorts were quick to help both Nodoka and the stranger to their feet, while Ukyo, Shampoo, and Cologne checked to see if Nodoka was all right from the fall.

"Are you all right Miss? I am sorry for bumping into you!" The man said as he walked over to Nodoka and bowed in apology. 

"I am fine, my name is Nodoka Saotome, and you are?"

Nodoka asked as she gazed at the tall individual before her. The man was dressed in the same way her son was dressed, showing that he was a Jedi Knight, more evident was the presence of the light saber on his belt. His face however different, she always wondered if the Force had a way of making others look...somewhat younger, since her son looked to be sixteen despite his real age of eighteen. The man looked to be around his middle of late thirties, but he still looked to be twenty-five or twenty-eight, was blonde and had such deep blue eyes...she felt a bit flustered, and when he spoke it was that of a cultured gentleman.

"Saotome? Madam, are you by any chance related to Jedi Knight Ranma Saotome?" 

Nodoka nodded.

"Yes, I am his mother, how do you know my son?" 

The blonde gentleman nodded and smiled. "I trained and spared on occasion with him in the temple on Coruscant, My name is Mical, it is a pleasure to meet you." 

Mical looked at Nodoka and was surprised to see that despite her age, she was still very much a beautiful woman, though it might be because he was older than her in some ways. He shook his mind clear of such...immature thoughts and smiled at her. However, Mical was a man after all and admired the features of Nodoka Saotome as they began to chat, and he too greeted the Ukyo, Shampoo, and greeted Elder Cologne. He then noted that Nodoka's smile was very warm and beautiful and for some reason his body warmed up a bit more. 

(Calm yourself Mical, she is the mother of Ranma, I highly doubt Ranma would like the idea of you getting...interested with his mother of all things!)

As they walked to where they would meet the others, The Jedi Council member and Consular only had one worry. 

(I hope that Atton doesn't try anything on her, How would Ranma take that is something I might not want to miss though.)

Speaking of which... 

The rest of the crews of the Ebon Hawk were on their way to Telos, finally to take a break from all the constant fighting and have some time off with friends, both new and old. Among them was a certain former Sith Assassin/Scoundrel now Jedi Sentinel who was wondering if he could have a chance to see his old student as well. 

--------------

Elsewhere…

Carth and Ranma were busy talking, along with Canderous about the latest happenings from the Republic, while Ranma told them about his life back on Earth, both men were amused greatly by what Ranma had to go through with the affections being handed to him by the women on his world, both young and older. However they were angry when they heard that Ranma had run into his father, though both men had different opinions on what Ranma should have done, Carth wanting Genma to rot in jail for all his life-time, while Canderous wanted Ranma to throttle the old fat idiot for good, both agreed that Ranma was stronger and never gave into his anger and rage. 

Both men were then busy discussing what they had been doing since they had last seen him, and soon enough the topic then came to the festival. 

"So Republic, how many months has it been since we all have had Tarisian ale?" Canderous grinned. 

Carth groaned a bit though he somewhat grinned at the mention of Tarisian ale. Tarisian ale by now was a HOT commodity in the Known Galaxies, one bottle would have been worth around five to eight thousand credits. And the thought of a WHOLE case of the ale would have been worth a hell of a lot more...maybe enough to finance a three year operation. Revan however had managed to acquire the technique on how to make the ale, which he claimed was merely by mistake, though both Carth and Canderous doubted that. The Republic Admiral recalled at one time how wasted Revan was when he drank a few bottles of the stuff after he found out that he was the Former Dark Lord of the Sith AND Bastila being kidnapped. 

After all the battles and being married to Bastila, he still drank, but in smaller amounts out of respect to his wife, who due to their Force Bond was NOT in the mood to hear her husband's thoughts when he was drunk...though she DID blush when the thoughts concerned her. Revan made only small amounts of the ale and due to at least his Force training he wasn't easily taken down by the drink. 

"Canderous, the last time we had the ale was when Ranma left for his home-planet...which was nearly eight months ago. Don't tell me you plan on having some more now?" 

"Why not?" 

"The time you had them, you started a staring contest with Claria's pet gizka for an entire night! You have any idea how down right weird and scary that was?" 

"So?" 

Carth sighed. "Never mind, forget I brought that up, so Ranma...how was it being with you're mother again?" 

"It was interesting, believe me...it was a heck a few weeks though." 

Ranma then went on to tell them of what had happened in China and more...both men were also amused when he told them about his misadventures and then both were surprised when he got to the part of when he was challenged by Kuno. Canderous raised an eye-brow at that part. 

"You mean to tell me that the runt actually wanted to fight you with a wooden sword?! When was the last time he had a psychological evaluation, no one in their right mind would fight with wooden swords, unless he or she's that talented, but he sounds like a total novice!" 

"And has a VERY large ego problem from the sound of him." Carth added. "So, what happened?" 

"Well, suffice to say, had I been armed with a steel blade...I would have taken his head off." 

"So you knocked him unconscious?" 

"Yeah, apparently though, his ego won't let him lose at all, he even attacked me in a public shopping center once...right before I had my parental reunion with my...father." 

He told them about the encounter and even the encounter with Kodachi Kuno, the sheer memory of the insane woman was enough to make the young Jedi Knight cringe in revulsion, much to the surprise of both the Republic Admiral and the Mandalorian leader. He also went on to describe the others he met, his descriptions of both Ukyo, Shampoo, Nabiki, and Kasumi made the two men smirk, since Ranma sounded like a regular young man who liked women, instead of the usual Jedi banter. 

The conversation however was cut short with two occurrences, the first being the arrival of Mical, with Nodoka, Ukyo, and Shampoo with their TSF escorts...and the second was the announcement from Commander Grenn that the Ebon Hawk had arrived. The whole company then went out to meet the rest of the Ebon Hawk crew.

-------------- 

Later... 

Ranma and his family looked on as the door opened and out came two very familiar droids, both of whom, Ranma went first to meet. 

The shortest of the droids went over on it's wheels and greeted the young Jedi Knight with beeps, whistles, and flashing lights. To others the droid was speaking in gibberish, but like Jesse and Revan, Ranma was familiar with droid speak. He smiled and patted the droid affectionately. 

"Hello T3, nice to finally see you again." 

"Amused Greeting: Why hello there, Jedi Meatbag. I see you're still alive and kicking." 

Ranma gave a slightly sour look as he gazed at the other droid, a tall, menacing, rust or dried blood colored human formed droid armed with a heavy repeating blaster rifle and red eyes. 

"Nice to see you too HK-47...how many Sith meatbags did you hyperventilate THIS time?" 

"Proud Answer: I am happy you asked Meatbag! By my last standard status check, I have eliminated at least 62 Sith meatbags since you left for your home-planet all those months before. Hopeful Query: Do you happen to have seen any other Sith meatbags there? I am very interested to take out a few more to beat my previous record!" 

Ranma shook his head is exasperation, there was no doubt that the assassin droid would never change, he'd bet ten to one the droid would gladly wipe out a whole Sith base by _himself_ for the sheer desire for some variety. Ah well... 

"Ranma! It is good to see you again you little devil!" 

Ranma turned and bowed before a tall, well formed, female redhead wearing a headband and dressed in Jedi Knight robes with a light saber strapped to her side. The redhead then hugged Ranma warmly, like a relative, much to the surprise of Ranma's group.

Ranma however smiled in gentle greeting and replied. "It's good to see you again Master Mira." 

The former bounty hunter and now Jedi Sentinel smirked as she ruffled Ranma's hair playfully. She liked teasing her former student and was happy to see him in good health, and smiling, not like before when she felt him nearly being drawn into the Dark Side, she recalled that she too was tempted back on Malachor 5 to finally end Hanharr's life, she could have easily done so...having been trained well by Jesse in the combat arts...but she chose not to, and left Hanharr alive, it was tough since if she killed him, she would be free of the life-debt forever, but she recalled why she never killed anyone in her previous line of work...and decided to spare him, already acting like a Jedi, though THAT took a while for her to accept actually. She saw a good deal of potential in Ranma...like the others did, namely when she began to train him...he had done more than any normal boy his age could.

"Hey, can I have a turn Mira? Or do you have dibs on him only?"

Another voice came from the ship as a tall man with slightly teal/brownish skin came out from the Ebon Hawk, he wore normal clothes, reserved for technicians, and would have passed on as a normal person...that is if one saw that he had a cybernetic arm in which the hand was connected with energy to the middle of the upper arm, had no hair, and in the place of hair was a crown of horns...and the lightsaber strapped to his belt.

Ranma nodded and shook hands with the newcomer with the cybernetic hand, the stranger was none other than Bao-Dur, Ranma's Iridonian/Zabrak teacher in the technical field and fellow Jedi teacher. 

"It's good to see you again Master..." 

"Please Ranma, don't call me Master just because I taught you a lot about shields and construction. I was honored to train you in any way I can, and besides...I'm not exactly dressed right now to be called a Master." Bao-Dur grinned as he was still dressed in the same clothes he had worn when he was reunited with Jesse when the former Jedi General walked on Telos with Atton and Kreia. 

Ranma smirked. "All right then... It's good to see you again Bao-Dur." 

"Same here lad, it's wonderful to see you in good health." 

"Well...looks like the young pup's finally gotten older."

A bald dark skinned man said in Jedi style robes, along with his lightsaber next to him clipped on his belt. The old man had silver shot hair on his eye-brows, beard and moustache, and he showed power, wisdom, authority and skill in his old age, however his eyes held not just wisdom, but mischief as well as he looked at the young man before him. 

"And it looks like you've gotten more wrinkles and lines, been pickling well old man?" Ranma said with a smirk. 

Nodoka was surprised at Ranma's attitude to the old man who was dressed as a Jedi Knight like he was, and naturally as his mother, she expected him to be courteous to the elderly. 

"Ranma!!! How could you say that to an elder?!" 

The old man merely laughed back at Ranma and looked at Nodoka. "No worries here lass, I don't mind being called an old man cause I am one in the first place. But I promise you that I'll get even with your boy here." 

He then bowed before Nodoka. 

"Before I give this son of yours a sound thrashing later, I pay my highest regards to you Nodoka Saotome for having an amazing, though still slightly annoying boy for your child. And My name is Jolee Bindo, now if you will excuse me...I have some business with Ranma here." 

"Bring it on Jolee!" 

The old man then went on to attacking Ranma with his physical strength and the Force, while the others laughed, even Cologne and Nodoka laughed as despite being older now, Jolee was still as fit as he was when he was still younger. He then grabbed Ranma's face and made funny faces with him. A minute or two later out came more people. 

"Ahhh...if you are done making Ranma's face look like a Hutt's Jedi Knight Jolee Bindo, I would like to greet my old student." A silken voice came as a figure of a woman came from the Ebon Hawk. 

The woman wore a hood and veil over her face, covering the upper portion of her head and most of her face, except the lower portions. Despite this, the looks of the woman were stunning, along with her black, red, and golden robes, with her lightsabers next to her in easy reach. Her robes hugged her figure, showing that she was beautiful, despite her guise. 

Visas Marr smiled as she looked through her Force Vision and saw Jolee release Ranma, as her student walked to her and bowed in warm greeting. 

"It is good to see you again Ranma."

The Miraluka Jedi said with obvious warmth and affection for her student. 

"It is good to see you too, Master Visas." Ranma replied warmly as well. 

The two spoke together while the others also greeted Nodoka, Ukyo, Shampoo, and Cologne. As Visas stepped aside, another being came from the Ebon Hawk. The new arrival was also dressed in Jedi robes and had lightsaber present. But she too was unique among the group...as she had tawny skin as if it had fine fur on it in certain areas, and her features were somewhat feline-like, along with her eyes, which were deep amber like a large predatory cat. Her hair was in braids and in a high ponytail behind her. Though she looked cat-like, there was no mistaking the aura of power, ferocity, skill, and wisdom. Her eyes glinted in a warm feral smile as she spoke n a unique accent. 

"It is finally good to see you here Ranma, I hope that you have done well?"

Jedi Knight Juhani asked her adopted Padawan. 

Ranma replied with a bow to Juhani. "I have been well." 

The two then embraced for a minute and broke away as Juhani went over to give her greetings to Nodoka as well...already aware that she was Ranma's biological mother. 

Another figure appeared and it was none other than Atton Rand who then smiled as he saw his fellow Jedi and adopted student. The two had done a lot together, namely adventuring around the hot-spots and flushing out Sith allies and cells. The former Scoundrel and Sith assassin was still dressed in his normal jacket, pants, gloves, boots, and shirt, though there was no hiding the fact he was a Jedi Sentinel with the lightsaber strapped to his belt. 

"Well...nice to finally see you again Ranma, how many hearts have you snared this time?"

The Jedi Knight asked with a smirk. To which Ranma smirked back... 

"None of your business." 

"Really now? I'll have to see if you have improved those mental shields of yours, cause I'll find out either way." 

"Try me Master Atton, I have been busy."

Both Jedi bickered a bit and they were very much enjoying the fact that they were needling each other like they did when he was younger.

When that was over, Atton walked over and spotted Nodoka, it took a second for the Jedi Sentinel to learn that she was Ranma's mother. He was somewhat surprised, not in the fact that she was a bit shorter than her son...but the fact that she was still that attractive...

Now Atton had been with women for most of his time both as a Republic Soldier, and as a Sith Assassin, and even after becoming a Jedi, he still didn't mind hanging out with the opposite sex, needling Brianna when he could, though in a friendly manner, and trading word barbs with Mira. But this was the first time looking at an attractive woman rendered the otherwise mouthy and sarcastic former scoundrel mute. He didn't know why, but Nodoka was one woman he wouldn't mind courting, though he knew that his former student would blow a coolant seal if he found out that his rake of a teacher had a schoolboy's crush on his mother of all things! 

Nodoka also was impressed a bit by Atton, there seemed to be something in the young and no doubt handsome looking man who was in front of her. If he was the one who her son spoke of who introduced him to the joys of being with the opposite sex, then she would have to thank him for helping his son with that side of his education, since she had NO doubt in her mind that Genma would have never spoken about such things to Ranma, since he might use his son's innocence to his advantage. However she knew that by definition, she was no doubt older than Atton and her having an attraction with a younger man would be asking for trouble.

The two bowed and acted normally, Atton bowing and greeting each other with respect, though Ranma suspected something was going on between them. And he was laughing his head off.

Cologne was trying hard not to show her nervousness...she had been reaching out with her senses and they were being overwhelmed by the sheer amounts of power being emitted by the people gathering before them. Each Jedi Knight who came out of the Ebon Hawk was emitting such a powerful aura of confidence, battle-expertise, and more that...made the three hundred year old Amazon matriarch, for the first time in her long life, nervous...the sheer amounts of power coming from the combined numbers of Jedi was something! She could she the imprints made by these people on Ranma, and considering what she saw and sensed...it was no problem for her to see just how much Ranma respected them...but as she probed deeper on the ship...she was overwhelmed to feel SIX auras that dwarfed even the combined crowd in front of her... 

It was then that she realized she was meeting the ones who had taken Ranma to be a Jedi...his second family. 

Six figures came out from the ship...One wore a Jedi Master's robe and had a intricately made single hilt lightsaber on his belt, the other, who appeared to be a human female, wearing a deep blue Jedi Knight robe and a double hilt lightsaber on her belt, with a hood covering her face, the next was a child, dressed in normal clothes, and wore no lightsaber. The female child had deep brown hair and blue green eyes that sparkled with joy and happiness when she saw Ranma.

The next trio were there now...the male figure was dressed Zeison Sha Warrior Armour suit and had a pair of single hilt lightsabers on his belt, the female figure was dressed in snow white Jedi Master robes and she carried a double hilt lightsaber, and the young boy wore normal clothes and carried no lightsaber, the boy's snow white hair was done in a braid and his deep blue eyes sparkled in happiness as he too saw Ranma. 

"Big brother Ranma!!!" 

Both girl and boy shouted as they run up to Ranma and began to laugh and play with the Jedi Knight from Earth, who played back and gamely greeted both children...after a few minutes, Ranma then bowed before the two pairs of Jedi before him. 

"It is good to see you again, Masters." 

"It's good to see you too, Jedi Knight Ranma." The two men said as they and their apparent wives took off their hoods... 

Revealing Revan Sunfire, ordained Jedi Master, his wife Bastila Sunfire, and senior Jedi Knight. And Ranma's other adopted parents and Masters, Jesse Harvern, Jedi Weapon-Master, and his wife Brianna Harvern, Echani Jedi Guardian... 

All two couples each smiled warmly at Ranma as they each hugged him in warm greeting. 

Cologne nearly fell off her cane as she sensed the raw power, skill, wisdom, strength, and energy emitted by the four before her...even the two children who were now being held by their respective parents radiated power on a level that nearly floored the Amazon matriarch!!! To meet the men and women who had made Ranma into the power-house fighter that he was...was...an honor that she never thought she would have...she could see and FEEL the power impressions of the two Jedi couples on Ranma. Ranma had told them stories of the talents of Jedi Knights Revan and Bastila, along with Jesse and Brianna, but Cologne didn't quite believe them...but now she was having second thoughts as she saw the people before them...they were a combined vortex of pure Force energy that she was amazed that they were not burning from the sheer power of their connections to the Force!!! 

Revan and Jesse each bowed before Nodoka as she smiled warmly at them. 

"I hope we did a good job with your son Miss Nodoka?" 

"You did more than I thought possible...thank you." 

Nodoka then turned and faced Bastila and Brianna, she could sense great power and skill in the two women, and likewise could be said when the two Jedi saw her, they could sense that Nodoka was Force Sensitive as well, explaining her son's ties in the Force. 

"It is a pleasure to finally meet Ranma's mother from Earth, I am Bastila Sunfire." The Jedi Sentinel said warmly as she and Nodoka bowed to one another...from one mother to another. 

"The same pleasure as well from me, I am Brianna Harvern." The Echani Jedi said with respect as she too bowed to Nodoka as well as her. 

Both Jedi had taken some understanding of Japanese Customs and speech so they knew how to speak the language.

Ranma then introduced his fellow Jedi to his friends and family, and Ukyo, Shampoo and Cologne were in awe at meeting the Jedi, all of whom had a hand in teaching Ranma in his twelve years away from Earth, it was also there that Dustil and Mission Onasi came on the scene...the Twi'lek Republic Intel Operative smiling as she welcomed her young friend, Dustil likewise greeted Ranma as both friends hugged one another and Ranma was happy to know that Dustil would soon tie the knot.

In was going to be a long and happy celebration for all involved...

-------------- 

However...not all was peaceful... 

The Sith Lord grinned as he began to activate the release and reawakening systems on the sedation/cryogenics pods...the only things that anyone could see and hear as there were shadows...was the sounds of a hiss, flowing liquid...and finally the snapping of teeth and scrapping of claws...along with sickly predatory eyes glowing with hunger. 

The Hssiss had been unleashed. 

-------------- 

To be continued…

--------------

Author's Notes:

Ah….after that situation with Akane and the needed time to take a break…I'd say this Restoration Day will be interesting indeed. But what will happen to Nodoka when she's in the presence of Carth Onasi, Canderous Ordo, Atton Rand, and Mical?

It seems the Saotome charm is alive and kicking yet again…only this time…Nodoka is in the limelight. Will she be able to handle being the center of attention?

Find out soon!

And just where did the Sith deploy the Hssiss? And what sort of chaos will the Dark Side Dragons unleash on the Republic? And will it rival the chaos the Jedi and the Mandalorians will encounter while they are on Earth?

Find that out soon!

This will be it for now for this story so I will dedicate my time to the other stories and I hope that you've liked it all.

Comments and Reviews please…


End file.
